


Book one

by Dont_do_sadness



Series: Avatar: The Disastrous Tale Of Alexander Hamilton [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alexander Hamilton is the avatar, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bending (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Fighting, Hamilton - Freeform, Lots of Laughs, Lots of Original Characters - Freeform, Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, PG, Spies, Yue makes an appearance, avatar fans and Hamilton fans this is for you, battles, childish and fun, fire nation is evil, gets a little dark, hamilton characters - Freeform, similar plot to avatar: the last airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-04-23 04:23:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 81,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19143502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_do_sadness/pseuds/Dont_do_sadness
Summary: For as long as the history of the world goes back, there has always been a divide between the four different bending disciplines: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. There was a time when these four nations seemingly lived in peace, but war was inevitable.Now, the Fire Nation is attacking, trying to take control over the other nations and eventually, the whole world.People are rising, rebellions are being formed and the Revolution against the Fire Nation has begun. The only problem? They’re severely outnumbered.There seems to be no hope, until the young avatar, Alexander Hamilton, joins forces with an unlikely groups of friends and heroes to defeat the Fire Nation.But they’re only a bunch of kids, how will they take on the force of a whole Nation that has ruled for years?Even when faced with adversity, cruelty, trauma, and war, Alexander will never give up and he will never stop fighting. Just you wait until he brings balance back to the world.Just you wait.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!
> 
> So if you’re already familiar with my work, I know I still haven’t finished Nothing Can Break This, But don’t worry! I will! I just have a lot of this fic written already and I really wanted to start posting it.
> 
> If you’re new to my work, hello! I hope this fic pleases you, whether you’re an avatar fan, a Hamilton fan, or both (like me)! I spent a lot of time on it and I’m pretty excited to share it. 
> 
> Anyway, this follows a basic outline of the plot for Avatar: The Last Airbender, but there are major differences and a lot of twists and new characters and plot developments. There’s either going to be 3 or 4 works in the series (haven’t decided yet) and around 15 chapters in each (I hope). 
> 
> Sooooooo without further ado, the prologue!

Alexander Hamilton always knew he was different. He didn't know how or why, but he knew nonetheless. He somehow sensed that he was meant to be set apart from others, that he was meant to be something special, something great, someone who could possibly one day change the world, if only he had the means to do so.

 

Unfortunately, however extraordinary he may have felt, he was only 12. He was only a child. And to make matters worse, he lived on the tiniest island in the fire nation. It wasn't even in the fire nation technically, it was a colony in earth kingdom territory. He was as far from the fire nation Capitol you could get and he had almost no way of knowing what was going on in the world. The best he got were rumours that floated around the town and the gossip from the rich ladies his mother and him worked for. They always had a lot to say about his mother and him, all of them were very rude things.

 

He would never listen to them though. Not once. Because he knew they were wrong. His mother was the strongest, bravest, hardest working woman he knew. She was his hero. She never let anything bad happen to little Alexander. She wouldn't even let him miss his absent father, because she was such a wonderful parent that she took up the role of both mother and father. Alexander never thought about his father, because he didn't need to. He had his mom and that was enough.

 

Of course, he'd come to realize that his mother was human, despite the extremely high pedestal he placed her upon. His mother was human and prone to illness, just like him. And not a week after his twelve birthday, they both fell extremely ill. 

 

Alexander remembers only so much about that time since he was too ill to know what was happening around him. He remembers being brought to the healing hut, the closest thing to a hospital they had on their little far-away island, and laying in the same bed as his mother for weeks, not being able to move and hardly being able to stay awake. 

 

He remembers his mother giving him her own medicine, her food, even her water, so that he would have the strength to survive. Alexander was too weak to refuse it, but he regrets it more than anything. He remembers how tightly his mother held him during those dark days when it seemed like the end was near. He remembers how safe he felt in those arms.

 

But most of all, the clearest memory he had, the one thing he would _never_ forget, was the night his mother died. In that bed he woke up to his mother shaking him. He'll never forget what she told him.

 

"Alexander. Alexander, listen to me, my sweet child. I must tell you something."

 

"Mom?" he had replied sleepily, he hadn't been completely aware of what was going on.

 

"There's something I need to tell you, and I must tell you now or you may never know. Can you hear me, mijo?"

 

Alexander remembers nodding and becoming more awake at the sound of his mother's urgent voice.

 

"Ok good. I need you to know before I tell you, that I love you. I love you so much, more than anything, and even though I may not always be with you, I will always love you. Remember that."

 

Alexander remembers getting very scared when his mother had said this, because it made it sound like she was about to die. But after weeks of being so ill, he had come to accept this reality. Death wasn't unknown to him.

 

"Alexander, my beautiful boy, you are so special. More special than you may ever know. You have such raw power and talent inside you, and such a kind, good heart to teach you how to use it. 

 

“But I need to warn you, some people in this world only want power, and they will go to any means to get it. There are bad people in this world, Alexander, and you must stay one of the good ones. Promise me you will stay good."

 

"I promise, mamá."

 

Alexander remembers being in tears at this point. He remembers his mother coughing so hard blood started to spurt from her mouth. He remembers her clutching him, holding onto him so tightly, as if she wanted nothing more than to hold onto him for her last few breaths of life.

 

His mother had gotten very weak then, and she had to lay back down. Alexander laid by her side and held onto her, tears spilling from his eyes.

 

"Good,” his mother rasped, voice weak. “Good. Now, you must know. When I gave birth to you, I was visited by the spirit of the previous avatar, Avatar Washington. He told me you were his next life. He told me _you_ were the next avatar."

 

Alexander remembers hearing his mother's breath become very uneven and laboured. He had felt her grip on him loosen as her arms slid down by her sides. With tears rolling down his face, Alexander remembers his mother looking up at him with a proud smile and glittering eyes.

 

"You are the avatar, mijo. And you must be the greatest avatar there is. I will know, for I will always-" 

 

His mother drew her last breath and her smile faded from her lips. She whispered her last words, "-be with you." before her eyes fluttered shut and her head rolled lifelessly to the side.

  
  
  


Even now, three years later, the memory haunts him. Alexander has been plagued by nightmares of his mother's death, and even more so in the horrors that were to come with living without her. But there was one dream, one small ray of hope, that kept him going, kept him fighting until he was healthy and strong again, until he found himself a job, while he worked and fended for himself. The hope that he could one day be someone important. The dream that he would one day save the world. 

 

The tiny thing that set him apart from everyone, that made him different, made him who he was. 

 

Alexander knows now who he is and what he must do.

 

He is the avatar.

 

And he will be the best avatar the world has ever seen.


	2. The boy on the island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a day in the life of our friendly, neighbourhood avatar. 
> 
>  
> 
> And an introduction to a new character? Hmm... wonder who it is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yello.
> 
> Here’s another chapter!
> 
> It’s a tad bit longer and there’s actually some action! I know it’s still kind of dry but I’m trying to establish some things before I get the plot rolling.
> 
> Also... just so we’re not confused the ‘James’ in this chapter is NOT James Madison. I repeat; NOT JAMES MADISON.
> 
> (Don’t worry, Jimmy James comes into play later and he’s AWESOME)

"That will be three copper pieces, please," Alexander Hamilton droned lifelessly as he handed the old woman at the fruit stand her watermelon.

 

The woman frowned and snatched the large fruit from him, shook it violently next to her ear, and handed it back to him with a look of disgust.

 

"This melon is rotten! Are you trying to sell me a rotten melon, foolish boy?" she spat at him, her crooked, yellow teeth poking out at him. He sighed and tried not to let the old hag get under his skin. He was after all, used to nasty customers. After working for the same, awful farming company for three years, one gets used to verbal abuse.

 

"No ma'am, I promise this melon isn't rotten. What good would selling you a rotten melon do me anyway?" he asked tonelessly, staring at her with dead eyes. The woman frowned and studied him closely for a moment, before snatching the melon back.

 

"I'll buy it for two copper pieces, and nothing higher!" she snapped. Alexander, who had long ago lost his patience with the woman, sighed and nodded before accepting the two, dingy copper pieces she handed him. The old lady stormed off to harass the fellow at the vegetable stand. 

 

Alexander peered at the pieces of money and stuffed them into his pocket. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to afford lunch, let alone dinner. He sighed deeply. He had gone yesterday without eating much already and he was famished to say the least. If only the family he was staying with actually bothered to feed him and care for him properly, instead of just letting him sleep on the hay in their old barn. 

 

He supposed that was more than nothing though, and he was grateful for anything he could get. And besides, he knew he wouldn't have to worry about it soon. He knew that one day he would get off of this crummy island and see the world. He knew someone was coming to get him and take him away. They had to be. The world needs it’s avatar, and he was it. Any day now, he would be whisked away to study the four elements and master them, he just knew it.

 

By his lunch break, Alexander had managed to make just enough to buy himself some bread and have enough left over to buy himself something small for dinner, and he hadn't worked his afternoon shift yet so hopefully more will turn up and he might be able to buy some real food. He bought his bread and nearly swallowed it whole before running off to the cliff.

 

The cliff by the ocean was where he ran off to whenever he had time to spare. It was completely secluded and he had plenty of room to practice without anyone seeing. His body buzzed with excitement as he ran through the streets, dodging horses and carriages and pedestrians as he did. He waved and hollered to the people he knew, the people who were nice to him at least, as he raced by. A smile spread wide across his face as he came into view of the cliff. Oh, how magnificent and blissful it was.

 

He climbed and climbed, eager to get there as fast as he could so he could have as much time as possible. He reached the top and breathed in the fresh, seaside air. He felt the oxygen fill his lungs and his veins, refreshing and reviving him. The wind blew strongly around him, pulling his shoulder-length, brown hair in every direction. He smiled as he felt the sun's heat beat down on him, it's raw power filling him to the brim with it's intensity. This was where he was meant to be, he was in his element.

 

He took his stance and closed his eyes, breathed in deeply and made sure to feel the energy from the sun. The sun was the source of a fire bender's power, after all. He took another deep breath, because he also knew fire bending came from the breath, before opening his eyes again. He moved, shot his hand out and stepped out, channeling his energy to the centre of his palm, where the heat gathered. 

 

The fire shot straight out of his hand and blazed over the grass on the cliff. He smiled, quite pleased with himself, and continued to practice. He practiced the same basic moves and stances until he felt ready to move onto the harder ones, which were still easy enough for him. He kept working his way up, the same way he always did, until he needed to stop and have a break. He wiped his sweaty brow and laid down in the grass, perfectly content to feel the sun's heat on his face.

 

He had been teaching himself fire bending since he was eight, since he discovered that he could fire bend. His mother never bothered to tell him he could fire bend, perhaps she had been scared he would discover he was the avatar if he tried it. But once he had found out on his own, she was more then happy to help him learn, even though she had no idea how to do it herself, as she was a non-bender. 

 

He learned from studying the books and scrolls in the local library and from observing the fire benders in their small town. Eventually, he got the hang of it and now he was making up his own moves for more of a challenge. He loved fire bending, loved feeling the strength and power that came with it, loved feeling that rush of adrenaline he got every time he shot fire out of his bare hands and feet. He loved every part of it.

 

Once he had had enough of a rest, he sat up and crossed his legs, staring out at the sea. It went as far as he could see in every direction. All he could see was blue. He hated being on an island, so isolated from the rest of the world. He longed to see what else was out there, longed for it more than anything.

 

"Any day now," he reminded himself. Any day now he would be taken away to learn the other three elements, since he had already basically mastered fire bending. Fire bending was easy for him, but the other elements... not so much. He could earth bend quite easily too, but air bending was a challenge. And water bending? Alexander didn't even want to try water bending. He already knew he hated it. 

 

At the thought of the other elements, Alexander dug his hand into the hard, dry earth and pulled out a handful of it. He concentrated hard and squeezed his hand into a fist. He felt the dirt harden and turn to stone in his hand. He opened his fist and peered at the round ball of earth. He smiled and tossed it in the air, stopping it just before it reached his hand on the way back down and left it hovering there, mid-air. 

 

He tossed it between his hands without ever letting it actually make contact with his hands. He broke it into three equal sized balls as it hovered in the air, using only a flick of his finger to do so, and started to juggle them without ever actually touching them. He then let them fall back into his hand, crushed them, and let the dust fly into the breeze. He sighed. His island had many books on fire bending but none on earth bending, as it was prohibited. The fire nation soldiers made sure no one used any bending other than fire. It was quite sad.

 

Of course Alexander knew about the war that was going on, his island wasn't that isolated. And although he didn't know exact details, he did know that the earth kingdom had started a revolution of sorts, to free themselves of the fire nation empire, and that there was now a war going on between the earth kingdom and the fire nation. He also knew that the water tribes, both north and south, didn't want to get involved in the war, and that the air nomads were too "enlightened" to want anything to do with such petty things as war and violence.

 

But Alexander was no air nomad. He desperately wanted to be in the war, wanted to fight for his nation and prove his worth. He wanted to end the war with his awesome avatar abilities and have the world love him for it. He wanted to be the great avatar his mother wanted him to be, but how could he do that when he was stuck on this stupid island? 

 

He sighed sadly and decided he should probably get back to work. He trudged back down the cliff miserably. If only he could train all day and quit his stupid job. If only he could be taken away right now to train with masters and learn everything. Spirits, he wanted to know everything.

 

———

 

About a week later there was a storm that hit the island. 

 

At least, it started out as a storm. 

 

But it seemed to last two whole days, and the longer it went on the worse it got. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, flooding, earth tremors, they all seemed to grow in size and intensity.

 

It was the middle of the night on the second day of the storm when Alexander awoke in his pile of hay to the raging winds and pelting rain and the screams that came from outside. He ran out of his small barn (a pitiful shelter, really) to find the worst version of a storm he had ever seen raging in the sky above. His eyes widened as he saw huge bolts of lighting scatter across the sky, lighting a tree here and there on fire. The rain and wind blew everywhere and there was already inches of water gathering at his feet. He ran out to the streets only to see even more horrors.

 

People were running into their houses as the water streamed rapidly down the street, pulling garbage and debree along with it. Alexander saw buildings start to collapse from the way the earth was shaking. He saw whole trees being uprooted and blown over. He looked around desperately for any sign of shelter as he realized he wasn't safe where he stood.

 

But no where was safe. 

 

A river of rushing water came barreling down the street and it hit Alexander like a wall. It swept him up and carried him along as if he weighed nothing. He was pulled under water, panic and fear clawing at him as he desperately fought against the current to try and stay afloat. He broke to the surface, gasping and coughing and scrambling to find anything solid to hang on to. Somehow, he managed to grab hold of a street lamp pole and he hung on tightly as he watched  in horror people getting pulled away from their families who were screaming and trying desperately to save them. The wind roared and buildings crumbled. 

 

Alexander coughed and breathed in ragged breaths as he clutched to his lifeline. His heart thudded in terror as the water continued to pull at his body. He grunted, using all of his strength to hold on. He had to hold on. 

 

Alexander’s grip slipped and he was once again whisked away by the water.

 

He flailed and tried desperately to keep his head above the water as he was pulled downstream, but it was hard. Tree branches and bricks and all sorts of things hit him as he flew downwards. He gulped and gasped for air, swallowing the dirty water as he did. He coughed and sputtered. The world was spinning out of control.

 

He kept dipping under water and then back up again. He was drenched and freezing but those were the least of his problems as he was about to drown. He started to wonder if this was just a horrible nightmare, but figured it felt too real to be his imagination. His survival instincts kicked in and he kept swimming, desperate to stay afloat. 

 

His heart was pounding louder than the thunder and the wind combined. Even louder than all the screams. Alexander suddenly bumped into something solid but soft. He turned to see it was a body floating lifelessly in the water with blood all around it. He screamed in terror and fought twice as hard to stay above water.

 

Somehow, the water pushed him into an open door and he found himself tumbling into a semi-collapsed building. His heart raced in panic as the water flooded the room, pushing him to the ceiling. He gasped for air, looked around wildly for an exit, but he was trapped. The water filled the room. He pressed his face to the roof and took in one last breath before he was completely submerged in the cold water.

 

He opened his eyes underwater but it was too dark and murky to see anything. It was calm though, much calmer than the raging storm outside. Alexander stayed there, suspended in the water. He felt his lungs start to burn. He swam desperately in the direction he thought was where the door was but the current was too strong. He choked and saw the bubbles of air rise above his face. He needed air. 

 

Suddenly, his vision grew black around the edges. He clawed at his neck, thinking maybe he could get oxygen if he could tear it open. It didn't work. Everything around him went black.

 

He thought that was going to be the end, and looking back on it, it really should have been. But then some part of him must have remembered he was the avatar, because just as he was about to die, his instincts kicked in and he went into the avatar state.

 

His eyes snapped back open, glowing a bright, white light that cut through the dark water. Alexander, who had no awareness of his actions, waved his arms around himself, pulling the water around and around. It started to swirl and create a whirlpool around Alexander, before it all gathered underneath him and shot him upwards. He crashed through the building, blowing off the entire roof as the funnel of swirling water propelled him up into the sky. 

 

The water stopped lifting him and soon Alexander was hovering up in the sky, supported by a tower of swirling water that he was somehow controlling. Alexander was not aware of the wind blowing at him, threatening to knock him out of the sky, or of the rain that pummelled down on him like bullets. He was no longer Alexander, now he was just the avatar, a pure, powerful, force of nature.

 

Alexander, with his face completely expressionless aside from his angry, glowing eyes, raised his arms up by his sides, flicked his wrists, and immediately the rain and wind stopped. It was as if someone paused time. The drops of rain were just suspended in mid-air and the wind that had been roaring so loudly was now no where to be seen. The rushing water down below in the streets came to a halt, and the people down there were able to swim through it to safety again. At this point, everyone in the village started to notice and looked up in shock and awe at the flying Alexander, who was commanding the storm to yield to him.

 

He waved his arms again and the raindrops vanished, evaporating into thin air. Then, after many swift arm movements, Alexander bended the air and tore and hole right trough the clouds of the storm. The hole grew and grew until the clouds were completely dispersed, and the night sky was clear again.

 

Alexander wasn't finished though. He drew in a breath and raised his arms slowly in front of him. The water in the streets rose slowly, leaving the people and debree safely on the ground. The water rose and rose into the sky and when it was all off the ground, Alexander pushed it back over to the sea and it poured back into the ocean. The villagers stared up in wonder and amazement as their saviour used fire bending to put out the fires the lightning had caused. All he had to do was snap and the fires were extinguished. He crushed his hands into fists and rocks and stones from demolished buildings started to vibrate and rise off the ground. The buildings seemed to rebuild themselves as bricks and stones gathered together and sacked themselves in place. 

 

At last, the avatar was lowered slowly back to earth. The water funnel vanished and he stopped bending, his arms coming to rest at his sides. Then, his eyes stopped glowing as the avatar state wore off and he came too again. 

 

Alexander blinked off the remnants of the blackness in his vision and swayed back and forth. He didn't know what was going on but he could hear cheers and applause coming from every direction. All he knew was he felt so tired and so weak. His muscles were shaking, his head was pounding, he just wanted to close his eyes and rest. His knees buckled and gave out and he felt himself collapse and fall to the ground. The last thing he remembered before falling into blackness was the collective shocked gasp from the whole town. And then, nothing.

 

———

 

When Alex came too he was lying in a soft bed. There was light pouring in from a cracked window, scattering the light across the room like fragmented glass. He opened his eyes slowly and groaned in pain. There was a searing pain in his side and a pounding one in his head. He started to wonder why he was in so much pain to begin with, and then he remembered the hurricane. 

 

He sat up quickly and looked around, his heart pounding. He was in a small room, a room that looked like it was in the healing hut. That was weird. How'd he get here? And what happened to the storm? He thought he had drowned...

 

Suddenly, a kind looking woman with a plump face came into the room. She smiled brightly at Alexander and hurried over to him.

 

"Oh, thank heavens you're alright! You had the whole town scared half to death!" she cried as she quickly checked his pulse and fussed over him.

 

Alexander blinked in confusion. Why was the whole town worried about him?

 

"What?" he croaked out, his voice sore and strained. _Probably from almost drowning_.

 

"Oh, you were just so magnificent out there! So wonderful! So amazing! I was in complete shock myself! I had no idea the avatar was among us, living right here in this small town all this years! What a blessing! Had you only told someone sooner and they might have taken better care of you! Look at you! You're thinner than a twig!"

 

The woman rambled on but Alexander wasn't listening, he had far too many questions. 

 

"I'm sorry, but how do you know I'm the avatar?" he asked hoarsely. The lady stared at him like he was insane.

 

"Are you joking? You were bending all four elements, weren't you? You fought that whole storm off by yourself! And good thing too or our whole town would have been in ruins!" 

 

Alexander's eyes widened. Bended all four elements? Fought off that whole storm by himself? But he couldn't have! He could barely bend two of the elements, let alone all four! And he wasn't nearly strong enough to go toe to toe with mother nature! Was this lady _insane_?!?

 

He suddenly realized that maybe he had died in the storm and this was his version of heaven, where everyone thought he was a hero. But then again he didn't think you could feel pain in heaven and right then he was in loads of pain.

 

"I'm sorry, but I think you’re... mistaken? I _am_  the avatar, but I can't bend all four elements yet. I have no idea who saved the town from that storm but it couldn't have been me," Alexander told the woman. She smiled fondly at him and patted his arm softly.

 

"My dear boy, it was you. I saw you up there with my own eyes. You were in the avatar state, you had all the power of every past avatar on your side, of course you could bend all the elements!" 

 

She looked so sure of herself, but Alexander still couldn’t believe her. He had more questions now than he’d ever had before. What was the avatar state? How did he get it? How did he know he could do it? And why couldn't he remember a thing?

 

"Well, I'll go get you some food, you must be famished!" the lady said suddenly, pulling Alex out of his own head and back into reality.

 

"Oh, but I don’t have any money... I can't pay for it," he said, a little ashamed, as she started to walk out the door. She smiled at him kindly and shook her head. 

 

"After saving the whole town, I think you deserve some free food," she replied sweetly before closing the door softly. 

 

Alexander didn't have much time to think about the events of the last few hours because soon there was steaming hot soup in front of him and he was so hungry that he didn't care if his tongue got burnt. He ate the food gratefully and made sure to thank the lovely nurse over and over again, to which she replied, "we should be the ones thanking you," every time. 

 

By the late afternoon Alexander was allowed to leave the healing hut, and as he emerged he was more than surprised to see a crowd of people waiting outside. They were smiling, _beaming_ , and they were cheering for him. As he walked through the crowd everyone shook his hand and thanked him, a couple mothers holding small children were even in tears. 

 

Alexander was in shock.

 

Before, not half of these people knew he existed! And now... they were crying for him?

 

He walked back through the town and took in the sight of the ruins. There was still quite a bit of damage done but he assumed it would have been a lot worse had he not gone into this ‘avatar state’. 

 

His mind wandered back to what the nurse had said and he couldn't stop wondering how it worked. He desperately wanted to know.

 

Alexander walked aimlessly through the torn-up streets, ignoring the cheers, cries, and badly covered whispers. He stated unseeingly at the ground, the buildings, the sky. 

 

The words, ‘The avatar state’ kept playing on repeat in his mind.

 

_What did that mean?_   


 

———

 

The entire Fire Nation was in a panic.

 

Well, at least the entire Palace City was.

 

But the news was spreading fast; spreading like wild fire and it wouldn’t be long until the rest of the Fire Nation knew... until the rest of the _world_  knew.

 

Knew that the statues in the Fire Sage’s Temples lit up in an eery glow last night... knew what that meant...

 

James had to work fast, if he wanted to take advantage of the situation while he still could.

 

“Get my ship ready,” he barked out the order to whoever was listening as he stormed out of the meeting room. “And tell my captain to set a course for the island of Nevis.”

 

“Sir? Are you sure that’s the best ide-“

 

“ _Did I ask you to question my orders?_ “

 

James glared a hole into the secretary’s head, the much smaller man shrivelling under his maddening gaze.

 

“N-no...” he gulped. “... Sir.”

 

“Good.” James turned and kept marching straight for the doors. “Let my father know of my plans.”

 

“The Fire Lord is actually out at the moment-“

 

“Oh my spirits!” James spat in rage, throwing his arms up in frustration. Seriously? He did not care at all for what this puny little man had to say. “Just get the information to him- I don’t care how!”

 

And just like that, James left the Palace. 

 

He nodded his boat, and had a lot less troubles with his captain and crew than he did with that stupid secretary. 

 

They started out to sea, and James tried to keep a clear mind. 

 

_Deep breaths._   


_This is a once in a lifetime opportunity._

 

_You must get the avatar._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wOnDeR WhY hE wAnTS tHE AvAtaR?¿


	3. Grand Escapes and Dragon Tails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander likes to act tough but he should really know when to hold his tongue so it doesn’t get him into... precarious situations.
> 
> Also... dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!
> 
> Sorry this chapter took so long, it was exam season and I needed to focus on studying.
> 
> On another note, I am? Officially done high school?? As in?? I graduated????
> 
> Weeeeeiiiiiiird. 
> 
> Anywho! Enjoy the chapter!

"Would you like more breakfast, Ava- I mean- Alexander?" 

Fiona, the mother of the family that let Alex sleep in their barn, was nervously holding out a frying pan with sizzling eggs towards Alex.

Ever since he had saved the town (which was yesterday) the family had been extra nice to him, letting him sleep inside and feeding him and everything. Alexander found this weird because they were never so much as decent to him before, and now they were almost praising him. And as was the rest of the village. The whole thing made him uneasy, even if he did get fed.

"No, thank you," he replied with a shake of his head. He stood up to put his plate in the sink but Fiona sat him back down and took it for him. He felt his stomach churn uneasily as the brown-haired children around the table stared at him with huge eyes.

"Is it true you’re the avatar?"

"Can you really bend all four elements?"

"Does this mean you're gonna fight in the war?"

"Can you do that glowing thing with your eyes again?"

Were just some of the questions those children were asking him non-stop. 

Fiona sat back down at the table and smiled weakly at him. Alexander presumed this must be just as awkward for her as it was for him, since she had always treated him like a pesky rat living in her barn and now he was the avatar who saved them all from doom. But Alexander had always been the avatar, he hadn't changed, and he felt very uncomfortable with the way everyone was treating him. 

"So, I hear the fire nation army is sailing in today to come and fetch you. I guess we won't be able to have you in our home for much longer," she said, her voice oddly deep for a woman's. Alexander perked up at the mention of that and his eyes widened.

The fire nation army? Coming to get him? And take him where? How did they know he was here? 

A million other questions popped up in his head but he didn't know which to ask first. 

"-meet you," Fiona finished. Alex was suddenly pulled back to reality and looked up at her questioningly.

"What?" he asked, since he only caught the end of her sentence. 

“Oh, I just said I reckon the Fire Lord would like to meet you," she said absentmindedly as she fed the baby her peas. 

" _The Fire Lord?_ “ Alexander repeated incredulously. He couldn't believe it. Was he actually going to meet THE Fire Lord? The ruler of his nation? Alexander started to wonder what he looked like, what he acted like, what his responsibilities were as Fire Lord. His mind went off in a billion different directions.

The Fire Lord!

Unbelievable.

 

———

 

After breakfast he ran out to his cliff. He needed an escape from all the praise and questions people kept asking him, and it didn't make him feel better when he didn't know the answer to any of them. He had no idea how to be the avatar! Were these people really expecting him to be an expert, just like that?

Once he made it through the crowds and to his cliff, he could finally breath again. He laid down in the soft grass and stared at the sky. It was impeccably blue, no one would have guessed there had been a massive hurricane here just two nights ago. 

Alexander closed his eyes as he felt the breeze drift softly against his face. He remembered his mantra, the thing he had been telling himself for years:

_Any day now. Any day someone will come and take you away._

And now... was that day here? Was someone finally going to come and take him away from this island- from his home- and teach him how to be the avatar? How to bend all he elements? Would he had a teacher? Would he have a different teacher for each element? What was going to happen?

For the first time in his life, Alexander was unsure. 

His whole life, he had been waiting for someone to come and take him away and now... was it the right thing for him? He knew he had to master the elements and learn and become the avatar, but was he sure he wanted to be on the side of the Fire Nation? They were the ones who started the war, after all... 

He opened his eyes and stared up at the blue once again. He needed help. He couldn’t make this decision on his own. He needed his mom. 

His heart ached, but in a familiar and almost comforting way. He sighed.

"Mamá? Are you there? I need help...”

There was no answer. Of course there wasn’t. Alexander just kept talking anyway. 

"Everyone is expecting me to be this great hero and to know everything, but I don't know anything. I don't know how to be the avatar, I don't even know who I am...”

Alexander trailed off, frowning up at the sky. He took a deep breath and continued. 

“Before you left you told me to always stay good, to always be good. You made me promise! And I did.... 

"But I don't know the difference between good and evil. In this war, there are two sides, so one of them has to be the good side, right? Or, is there no such thing as a good side and a bad side? Both sides probably believe they’re the good side, while they also believe the opposite side is the bad side and-“

Alexander stopped himself, groaning in frustration.

“I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore,” he muttered, closing his eyes.

“I just...” he sighed. “I just don’t know what to do. Should I go with the Fire Nation? Should I side with the people who started this war in the first place? Or... I don’t even know what the other option is!”

He threw up his hands, admitting defeat.

He stared up at the sky, an empty and lonely feeling washing over him. Three years. He’d been alone for three years...

“I don’t know what to do... I need you, mamá...”

Alexander heard his voice crack and felt a tear roll down his cheek. He rubbed it away quickly and continued to stare at the sky helplessly, a dull, aching feeling in his heart. He sighed and closed his eyes.

” _You are never alone, Alexander. When the time comes, you’ll know what’s right. I believe in you.”_

Alexander opened his eyes and sat up quickly. He looked around wildly, searching for the owner of the voice he just heard. But no one was there.

 

———

 

Alexander stayed on his cliff for the rest of the day, and at sundown, he could see the giant, empire-class Fire Navy ship sail into the pathetic, tiny harbour. 

He watched, his heart pounding, as a dozen or so fire nation soldiers walked off. They all had matching armour and helmets with masks so you couldn't see their faces. They looked terrifying to Alexander and he couldn't understand why everyone was applauding and cheering for them.

He then saw what he expected to be the general come off the ship, as his armour was different and he looked quite authoritative. He saw him ask around the crowd for something and he saw the villagers all reply at once. He watched as the general calmed them down and asked them again. Then he saw Fiona step to the front and point in the direction of his cliff. She pointed right at him.

The general turned to look and- even though Alexander knew he was more than far enough away to be seen- he felt as though he had been caught. His hair stood on end and chills went up his spine. A panic started to rise in him. 

He wanted to run, but he couldn't move. He sat, motionless, on the cliff as the troops made their way up to him. His heart was beating faster than it ever did before. He wanted to run.

But instead of fleeing- he waited. He sat cross-legged on the cliff, waiting patiently for them to find him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself. Whatever happened, he knew he would be ok. 

What felt like eternity passed and then-

"Excuse me, young man. Are you the avatar?"

Alexander opened his eyes slowly and-right there in front of him- was the general. 

He was even more intimidating up close. His shoulders were broad and spread wide and his towering height over Alex caused him to look like a skyscraper. His expression was calm, not kind but not mean, and open. He didn’t wear a helmet like the rest of the soldiers, and his hair was almost completely shaved off. 

Alex didn't flinch. He remained calm and nodded slowly.

"Yes." was all he said.

The general smiled what was probably meant to be a welcoming smile, but it just looked menacing. It sent chills up Alexander’s spine.

The general stepped forward and held his hand out to Alexander.

"Honour to meet you, avatar. I'm general Reynolds, James Reynolds. But I'm more commonly known as Prince James, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation."

Alexander blinked up at him for a moment. The actual Prince of the Fire Nation was right there in front of him! 

Alexander forced down whatever shocked or surprised expression wound up on his face and went back to being serious and emotionless. He had to remain impartial. He had to remain calm and collected. He could do this.

Alexander ignored the Prince’s outstretched hand and stood up on his own. He didn't have a good feeling about this Reynolds- or the Fire Nation soldiers as a whole.

The Prince looked confused and mildly offended, but then he forced a smile on his face again and shoved his hand back down. Alexander continued to stare at him with a flat expression.

"Well, avatar, I have come to offer you an extremely unique and wonderful opportunity,” the Prince continued, ignoring Alexander’s silence. “As of right now, the fire sages are preparing for your return and masters from each element are gathering to be able teach you. Everyone is very excited to welcome you back and teach you everything you need to know.”

The Prince paused, looking to Alexander expectantly, but the Avatar remained silent. James cleared his throat and continued, “And then- once you're ready of course- you'll be able to join our forces and help us win this terrible, on-going war and bring peace and balance back to the world."

After he finished his speech, the Prince waited for Alexander's reply, but it didn't come as quickly as he'd hoped. Alexander turned to stare at the sea, thinking things over. He didn't know why but his gut told him Reynolds was lying, and he already felt uneasy about the Fire Nation. He wasn't blind, he had seen how the soldiers on his island treated non-Fire Nation folk. He had always just assumed it was only here that that happened, but now he wasn't so sure...

"I'm sorry,” Alexander replied slowly, careful choosing his words. “But I don't think I'll be able to come with you.”

There was silence behind him for a minute, and then Alexander heard a nervous chuckle erupt from the Prince’s mouth.

“Did I hear you correctly?” James sounded confused, almost incredulous, even. “You aren’t actually turning down my offer?”

Alexander turned around, made himself as tall as he could and jutted his chin out. “You heard me.” 

James sputtered and fumbled for his words. “But- you could learn from the best! You could become the strongest thing in the world! You could be-"

"There's more to being the avatar than just power and fighting,” Alexander interrupted, taking a step forward. He didn’t exactly know what he was doing, or what he was saying, but he continued just as fiercely. “And I for one, don't think you have peace and balance in your agenda. Aren't you planning on conquering the world? Spreading the Fire Nation empire to all edges of the world?”

"Well-"

"Destroying homes and killing the innocent hardly seems like peace to me.”

The sudden edge in Alexander’s voice made James start, but only for a second, because then, his patience wore thin. 

The Prince looked as though smoke was about to shoot out of his ears. He glared at Alexander and took a threatening step closer, towering over him still.

"You are still but a child, young avatar. A child who has been isolated from the rest of the world for his whole life. You know nothing of the fire nation and you know nothing of the war," he snarled.

"Maybe so, but this 'child' just saved his whole island from a hurricane and I much prefer saving people over killing them in battle. I'm sorry, but my decision is made."

Reynolds looked at him with a mixture of shock and fury. His nostrils flared and he took yet another step closer to Alex, who himself stood his ground and didn't move an inch.

"You are a foolish, stupid child. You could have had all the glory and power in the world, and yet you choose to stay here with these filthy peasants?"

"They may be peasants, but they're my people and I won't abandon them."

Reynolds smiled wickedly and at first, Alexander was terribly confused, but then the general grabbed him roughly by the arm and leaned in to spit in his face, "Well then, if you won't join us willingly, we'll just have to take you."

Alexander's eyes went wide but he didn't have time to react. Reynolds spun him around and grabbed his other arm, pinning them both roughly behind his back. Alexander yelled out in surprise and pain as his arms were twisted backwards. 

"Men! Seize the avatar!" 

Suddenly, five soldiers were on him, holding him down and tying his hands behind his back. Panic flooded his senses and Alexander fought. He kicked up his leg and blasted one of the soldiers with a ball of fire, causing him to fly backwards and fall off the cliff. He kicked another one in the chest and sent him tumbling backwards as well. He took down at least five of the soldiers but there were just too many, and soon they were dragging him back down to the harbour.

"LET ME GO! GET OFF OF ME!" Alexander yelled angrily, his heart pounding ferociously in his chest as he struggled against the soldiers. Reynolds cackled from where he lead his soldiers down to the ship.

"Where's all that 'hurricane fighting' power now?" he called, grinning evilly. 

The soldiers dragged him along by his hands, twisting his arms in painful directions. He tried to dig his feet into the dirt to stop them from dragging him but it only made them pull harder. 

He didn't give up though, he kept struggling, kept trying to break free. Eventually, they got to the dock and Alexander was being dragged across wood planks instead of dirt.

He looked around him and was shocked to see all the village people there, crowded around the soldiers. The crowd parted as Reynolds lead his men to their giant ship, all of them staring in shock and bewilderment at Alexander.

"Avatar?"

"Is that the avatar? Why are they taking him?"

"Why is he tied up?"

"Where are they taking him?"

"What's going on?"

The crowd murmured and gaped in confusion and fear as their saviour from the previous night was being dragged away in chains. Alexander kicked and pulled and shouted and looked around wildly, begging for someone to help. No one did.

Alexander fought and fought but all his efforts failed and soon he was on the ship, sailing away from the harbour. Now there really wasn't anyone to help him.

He started to panic as his island grew smaller and smaller. He started to panic even more when the soldiers pushed him towards a door in the floor of the ship with stairs leading down to what looked like an ominous cellar. 

Suddenly, he felt a surge of power and adrenaline and he did the first thing that came to mind: fire bend. He spun around quickly to face the soldiers who were pushing him, and took a deep breath. Before they even had time to tell him to turn back around, he was blasting them all with the fire that came right out of his mouth. He didn't even know he could do that!

Alexander took his chance while the four or so soldiers tumbled backwards in shock and ran up to them. He jumped up and kicked out his right foot, sending a stream of hot fire right into the soldiers chest. The man fell down and took the soldier behind him with him. Then, Alexander jumped up even higher and landed on the next soldiers shoulders. She swayed underneath his weight and came tumbling down as Alexander pushed off and jumped into the air again. He made sure to kick the last soldier swiftly in the head before coming to land behind all of them.

With his heart still pounding and a new found strength, he ran to the end of the boat and burned the ropes that bound his hands together to a crisp, freeing himself. He turned around, and then immediately wished he hadn't because behind him was about ten other soldiers racing towards him. He continued to run to the end of the boat but stopped when he reached it, realizing too late that it was a dead end.

Now, he had a dozen angry, tough, mean-looking soldiers practically in front of him and no where to go. He swallowed hard and readied his stance, prepared to fight. He clenched his fists in fear and anticipation. 

The first soldier reached him and Alex shut his eyes tight and blindly sent out a wild fire blast. When nothing came back his way, he opened his eyes. He expected the soldiers to all be in front of him by then, burning him to a crisp, but instead there was something else in front of him... something huge and red and... scaly?

Alexander gasped as he saw and huge, red dragon whip it's tail around to take out every single soldier, pushing them all over board. The dragon turned to face Alexander and his heart nearly stopped. The dragon exhaled heavily, a small blast of fire coming out of it's nostrils, and made it's way towards him. Alexander backed up in fear until he felt the cold metal of the side of the boat press against his back. 

The dragon's face was suddenly right in front of him. Alexander shut his eyes tight and prepared for the worst. But the worst never came. 

He opened his eyes again to see the dragon staring at him calmly, almost curiously. Alexander stared back. The dragon's eyes were huge- it was almost cute, and it was much smaller and less threatening up close. Alexander smiled at it and it sort of smiled back. 

"Hi," he said dumbly, not sure if it would understand him. It seemed to though, and it brushed it's head softly against Alexander's shoulder. 

"Haha,” he laughed as he pet the top of it's head gently, “Well you’re a lot sweeter than you look, aren’t you?”. The dragon made some sort of purring sound and Alexander laughed again. 

Suddenly, Alexander heard an angry yell and looked up to see Reynolds running towards him. Panic rose in him once more and he looked at his new dragon friend.

"Hey buddy, d'you think you could get me out of here?" Alex asked in what he hoped was an encouraging voice. The dragon nodded and bent down in front of him. Alexander took the hint and threw one leg over the dragon's long, thick neck. And, once he was holding on tight, the dragon raised it's wings and took off.

Alexander’s stomach dropped and he screamed in joy and surprise as they flew up, high above the ship. He looked down to see Reynolds glaring up angrily. He smiled widely and waved down at him.

"Bye bye oh great and mighty Prince! Until we meet again!" Alexander yelled down at him, earning himself and large fire blast from Reynolds that wasn't nearly high enough to reach him and his dragon.

His dragon! A dragon had come to save him! And now he was flying so high and so far away! A thought suddenly struck him. He wasn't going to go with Reynolds and the Fire Nation army, but that didn't mean he had to go back to his tiny little island. In fact, it would be much better not to, considering that the Fire Nation would probably find him there and take him again. 

No. No, now he was going to go anywhere he pleased. Now he was going to really travel the world and learn the elements. Now he was really going to become the avatar. Now, he was really going to save the world.

He pet his dragon affectionately and it purred in reply. 

"Thanks for saving me back there, buddy,” Alexander spoke to it kindly. “If only you had come to me sooner. I could've left that place a long time ago." 

The dragon hissed happily in reply and flapped its wings to soar even higher. Alexander rejoiced in the feeling of the wind through his hair and the fresh, salt-water breeze on his face. He was finally, finally free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I PROMISE there will be more excitement in the next chapter. And more characters. A LOT more characters.


	4. The Big City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander and his new pet dragon arrive in the big city. 
> 
> It’s a big change from what Alexander is used to. Hopefully, he’ll stay out of trouble.
> 
> Who are we kidding? This is Alexander. If trouble doesn’t find him first, he’ll certainly go looking for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!
> 
> I really really like this chapter, I hope you like it too!

Alexander had no idea where Phillip was taking him, but he was more than happy to spend the next day flying over the blue ocean. 

He had named his dragon Phillip after one of Fiona's children, a small 4 year old boy with a fiery personality. He thought the name suited the great but kind creature. He and Phillip already had such a connection that you'd think they'd known each other for years, not just a couple days. Phillip was loyal and playful and hadn't failed Alex yet. He had even gone and hunted a couple of chickens for him and Alex last night when they had camped for the night on another small island.

Alexander's eyes grew heavy as they soared peacefully over the vast body of water. He stroked Phillip's scaly neck absentmindedly as he drifted in and out of sleep. He must have fallen asleep at some point because he was awoken suddenly by a loud huff from Phillip. 

He opened his eyes and sat up, cracking his back, and then he looked around in surprise. 

They were flying over land now, over what looked like a vast country side. Alexander looked down with curiosity at the fields of long grass and the occasional farm or small town. He noticed on more than one occasion that the towns had Earth Kingdom flags, he realized they must be in Earth Kingdom territory. 

"Where are you taking me, boy?" Alexander asked sweetly to Phillip. The dragon hissed and jerked it's head forward. Alexander had no idea what that meant but believed Phillip knew what he was doing and let it go. 

After a couple more hours of flying the towns began to grow and become less dispersed. Alexander guessed that they were headed somewhere with a larger population. 

Suddenly, he felt his stomach growl and he then realized how hungry he was. He tugged on Phillip's neck to signal for him to land, but Phillip must not have gotten the hint because he kept flying.

"Hey buddy, d'you wanna take a break and get some food? I'll help you hunt this time," he asked, rubbing Phillip's back. But Phillip shook his head and kept flying. Alexander felt his stomach rumble again and he groaned.

"Are you sure? I bet there's a tone of wild boar down there. Or even some cows," Alexander cooed. 

Phillip wouldn't budge. He just kept jerking his head forward and huffing loudly. Alexander gave up and slumped back against his neck. He didn't pay too much attention to his growling stomach, he was more than used to it by now.

He must have dozed off again because he was being jerked awake from Phillip's uneasy flying. He shot up and clutched to his neck to keep from falling off. He glanced wildly around, looking for something that might cause Phillip to fly this way. And then he saw it.

In the distance, still a couple miles away, was a huge city. Just the fact that Alexander could see it from this far away meant that it was huge. He gazed in amazement at the tall buildings and at how many there were. The city looked like it was right on the water, the ocean was right next to it. Alexander's eyes shone with curiosity and awe.

"Is that where we're going, Phillip?" he asked his dragon excitedly. Phillip nodded and let out a sort of exasperated snort. Alexander laughed. "Yeah yeah, I'm sorry if I don't speak dragon," he drawled sarcastically but light heartedly.

After a few more excited minutes, they were flying over the city. It was even more magnificent up close. Alexander took in everything as they flew around the tall buildings and swooped down towards what appeared to be a park. They ducked between trees and, at last, Phillip landed on solid ground. Alexander jumped off right away and stretched his aching muscles from flying all day. 

"Wow! This place is huge! Why'd you take me here?" he asked Phillip, who was drinking out of a small pond. Phillip ignored him completely and continued to drink. Alexander rolled his eyes and smiled at the beautiful creature.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone. You deserve sometime to rest," he said as he patted him on the back. He looked around the park curiously. 

“I'll just go wander around a bit," he added off-handedly as he took in his surroundings. Phillip snorted and gave him a look. Alexander rolled his eyes once more. 

"Don't worry, I won't go far!" he promised. Phillip seemed to think for a minute before nodding his head in approval and going back to lapping at the water. Alexander beamed. 

"Alright, I'll see you back here by dark! And try not to let anyone spot you or they may want to take you!" he called as he ran off in the direction of a path. He heard Phillip huff indignantly, as if he would ever be stupid enough to get himself captured, which he probably wasn't. Alexander could tell he was a highly intelligent creature, which was probably why they got along so well.

Alexander followed the path until he reached the streets and buildings again. He looked around in amazement and came to a quick conclusion; this place was nothing like Nevis. 

His island had old, rundown buildings with busted streets and sad little shops and tiny little wagon's pulled by horses. This city had massive buildings with clean streets and fancy carriages pulled by magnificent stallions. It was nothing like he'd ever seen before and everything he could possibly dream of.

He wandered the streets and smiled at the people, who smiled back as they walked along. He was so happy he was practically skipping down the streets. He then came to what looked like a smaller street that branched off from the main ones. He shrugged and decided to go down it, seeking a little adventure.

He walked down the street, which was covered in shadow by the setting sun. He could hear the bustle of the busy streets die out a little and everything got quieter. He looked around curiously as he kept walking. 

Somewhere ahead of him he heard voices, and he got even more curious. He crept along silently, keeping his ears and eyes wide open. He came to the alleyway where he could hear the voices coming from, and carefully poked his head around the corner.

In the alleyway, there were two big, tough looking thugs who had a young man pinned up against the side of a building. The kid looked around Alexander's age and he was wearing greenish-brown clothes, his hair brown and curly and pulled back into a ponytail. From where Alex was standing he could clearly see the boy's face, which was covered in freckles. He had bright, bright green eyes, and instead of looking scared- like any normal person would be if they were being attacked by two hulking thugs- he had a smirk on his face and a challenging glint in his eyes. Alex watched the scene play out with intense curiosity.

"That's the last time you fuck with us, Johnny boy," one of the men snarled as he twisted a fistful of the boy's green shirt in his hand. 

The boy- Johnny?- raised his hands in front of him and shrugged casually.

"Hey now, I was just doing my job. Now how about you go and do yours. What was it that you do again? Gang lord? Mobster? Common thug?" the boy asked calmly, his smile growing wider. 

The two thugs didn't seem to like his clever tongue as much as Alexander did though.

"One more peep outta you and I'll make sure you're never able to speak again," the other man growled as he pulled the boy up by his ponytail. The boy winced in pain but he still didn't seem to be afraid at all. Alexander was even starting to fear for him.

The boy grinned and looked up at the thug who had threatened him.

"Peep."

The thug lost it. He yelled in anger and raised his fist. Suddenly, Alexander got a surge of adrenaline and- without thinking at all- he jumped out of his hiding place.

"HEY!"

Both thugs dropped the freckled boy and turned to glare at Alexander. The boy looked at him too, with complete bewilderment and shock. Alexander stood his ground and tried to look as menacing as he could.

"Oy, piece of shit,” one of the thugs called as he turned to address the boy. “You know this guy? He with you and your little gang?" 

The boy looked between Alexander and the thug with a stunned expression then shook his head quickly. The thug snarled and turned to glare at Alexander once more.

"Ok little boy, why don't ya run off and find your mama now? Unless you wanna end up like this guy's ‘boutta.”

Alexander scowled at the man and clenched his fists. If there was one thing he hated in the world more than selling rotten fruit, it was being called a child. He worked his jaw angrily.

"Yeah, I don't think so,” Alexander said as he took a step forward. “Here’s what I think. I think you're gonna leave this guy alone and go crawl back into whatever hole you came from." Alexander cracked his knuckles and then his neck in a way he hoped looked very tough and menacing. "Or else I'm gonna have to do some stuff to you that I might regret."

Both thugs turned to look at each other and then they burst out laughing. 

Alexander's expression didn't falter, he stared down the two men hard. Meanwhile, the boy on the ground looked so shocked Alexander thought his eyes might pop out of his sockets.

"Oh, you're gonna be the only one regretting anything, little boy," the thug growled after he was done his laughing fit. Alexander smirked and took a stance. 

"Wanna bet?"

The thug scowled and folded his arms over his chest. “Ok, it was funny the first time, but now you’re just gettin’ on my nerves.”

“Why don’t you do something about it, then?” Alexander cocker his head to the side and batted his eyelashes. “Unless, you’re too scared to fight a little boy like me?”

At that, the thug turned red with rage and threw himself at Alexander. 

Before he could even touch him, Alexander jumped out of the way and sent the thug tripping over his own feet. He regained his balance quickly though and now he was even angrier. He turned around and stomped on the ground, and a boulder popped up from the ground. He then punched the air and the boulder flew right towards Alexander who ducked underneath it expertly and then aimed a fire blast right for the man's chest. The force of the blow sent him flying backwards and into a pile of trash cans. 

Alexander stood tall and smirked at the thug lying in the trash. He turned to the other one who looked a little surprised but angry as ever, while the boy looked so shocked Alexander thought he might faint.

"Fire bender, huh? Well time to meet your match," the other man said with wild anger and he jumped up and sent a wall of fire towards Alexander.

Acting quickly, Alexander dug his feet into the ground and squeezed his fists shut tight. Instantly, the earth below him collapsed and he sunk down into the ground, covering the hole where he disappeared above him. By the time the wall of fire cleared, he was out of sight. He somehow managed to earth bend the earth in front of him so that he could walk forwards under ground.

And then, as if this was a move he had been practising for years, he popped back up from under ground, right behind the thug who was looking around wildly for the Alexander.

"Where'd he go?!"

Alexander gave him his answer.

He kicked his foot into the ground and the earth rolled up like a wave and rolled over to the thug where it threw him up in the air, causing him to fall back down on his face. Alex stomped the ground and the earth below the thug shot up and the man went flying into the air before he crashed down on his friend who was still in the trash cans. Both men looked at him in fear.

"Did he just earth bend? I thought he was a fire bender!"

"He is! He hit me with a blast of fire!"

"But then how-“

"Why don't you take a guess?" Alex interrupted their bickering. He ran up, stopped a couple feet away, shifted his weight through his stance and shot fire out of both his fists. The fire encircled the two men as they both screamed in terror. Then, Alexander stomped the ground again and the earth underneath them sent them flying ten feet in the air and out to the other end of the street. Alexander watched with amusement as they both got up and scurried to run away. 

"Still think I’m a little boy?" he yelled after them as they ran. He kicked the ground once more and this time the earth bended like a snake that slithered quickly after them. The earth snake shot up once it reached one of the thugs, causing him to trip and fall on his face. He got up quickly and ran off with his friend.

Alexander crossed his arms and smiled, extremely pleased with himself. Perhaps he was a better earth bender than he originally thought. A wave of happiness and excitement washed over him at that thought.

"Uhh, ok that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” said a voice from behind him. 

Alexander turned around in surprise to see the boy (who he had completely forgotten was there) standing and staring at him in awe.

Alexander smiled and blushed sheepishly. "It was noth-"

"Who the heck are you?" the boy asked with an incredulous smile on his face. 

"Umm..."

Who was he? Does he say he's the avatar? Well he guessed he kind of gave it away so there was no point in denying it. But does he just come out and say it? Just like that? That seemed a little arrogant to him and he didn't want to seem arrogant. Of course he was proud to be the avatar but pride and arrogance were two different things. Plus, he was sort of on the run, should he really be going up to total strangers and revealing his identity-

"Holy crap! You're the avatar, aren't you?" the boy asked in disbelief, his eyes sparkling and his smile bigger than his face. 

Well, guess there goes the whole keep the identity a secret thing...

"Yeah. I am," Alexander replied sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. _Spirits_ , it was so weird to say that out loud to other people.

The boy didn't say anything, he just gaped at Alexander with his mouth wide open. Alexander waited for his reply, but once he realized there wasn't going to be one, he opened his own mouth to speak. 

Someone suddenly came bursting through a door on the side of one of the buildings. Alexander thought he heard music from inside the door but it swung shut too quickly for him to properly hear. Instead, he heard this new person, this other boy who was tall and very dark skinned with short hair and a red bandana tied around his head.

"What the hell is taking so long? What happened!" the boy yelled at the freckled boy angrily. Alexander's body went back into fighting mode as he jumped into his stance, just waiting to attack this new thug who was coming to hurt the boy with the freckles.

"I know, I know. Calm down! They both ran off, I didn't have time to get all the information out of them," the freckled boy replied. He sounded as if he was reassuring the other one, and again, he didn't look frightened at all. He actually smiled sheepishly up at the taller guy, a look of humorous guilt on his face.

"They ran away? Why- I thought I told you not to do anything until we had all the information!"

"I didn't, I swear!" The freckled boy looked past the other boy's shoulder and pointed straight at Alexander with a huge smile on his face. "He did."

The tall one turned around and shock spread across his face once he saw Alexander standing there, still in a fighting stance, although he had let his arms down now. For some reason, he didn't think this guy was a threat anymore, despite the obvious look of rage on his face.

"What? Who are you? And how dare you mess with our mission!" he yelled as he walked up to Alexander. He gulped and shrank under the furious glare of the stranger. He tried to explain himself but the freckled boy beat him to it.

"He just came out of the shadows and- WHAM! He beat up both of them in ten seconds flat! You should have seen it! It was amazing- the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" he rambled excitedly.

The other boy didn't look so impressed. He narrowed his eyes and continued to penetrate Alexander with his glare. "Why'd you help him?"

Alexander was confused by the question but answered it anyways. "I- I saw him about to get hurt and I knew I couldn't not do something."

"And how'd you manage to send two huge thugs running away?"

"And screaming!" freckled boy added.

"Uh, well..." 

Here it was again. The moment where he'd have to reveal he was the avatar. It was always harder than he thought-

"Herc, he's the avatar,” freckles hissed to the other boy.

The boy- Herc- stopped and his eyes widened in shock. Alexander saw something else in his eyes, something like a flash of hope. 

"Are you really the avatar?" Herc asked softly, all previous anger gone from his voice. Alexander nodded mutely- unsure what else to do- and Herc's face lit up with a wide smile.

"Come with me," Herc said quickly as he grabbed Alexander by the arm.

Alexander didn't have any time to react before he was being pulled swiftly through the door which Herc had emerged from earlier. Alexander glanced behind him and saw the freckled boy following closely behind and still grinning widely at him.

Alexander suddenly found himself inside a pub of some sort, and there was definitely music playing. He looked around and spotted a man playing a banjo with a woman singing along side him. He looked around some more and saw people of all ethnicities wearing all the different colours of the nations. It was amazing to see so many different cultures in one place.

The woman behind the bar was water bending people's drinks into their cups. Two men by the fireplace were playing a game of fire darts. A group of three, noble-looking air nomads chatted amongst each other quietly. To Alexander, who grew up in a small town which mistreated anyone who wasn't fire nation, it was a truly beautiful sight to see.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to appreciate it for long because soon he was being pulled through another door and up at set of narrow stairs and then down a narrow hallway and finally, stopped in front of a closed door. Herc let go of his arm and stepped up to the door. He tapped lightly three times, paused, and then tapped loudly another three times. Before Alexander could wonder why he did this, the door swung open.

"What took you guys so long? Did the mission go okay?" a young, air nation girl asked as she held open the door.

Alexander blinked. She looked very young, perhaps only 11 or 12, and the top of her head was shaved where an interesting blue arrow tattooed on her forehead pointed to the centre of her eyebrows. She wore yellow and orange air bender clothes and carried a long wooden staff. The hair on her head that she did have was long and brown and curly, much like the freckled boy's. Her skin was the colour of caramel and she had light grey eyes. 

"No," Herc huffed as he pushed past her into the room. "The mission failed, but I think I might have found something better."

The girl's mouth fell open in surprise as she followed Herc into the room. The freckled boy started to walk in as well, but then noticed Alex wasn't going to move so he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him through the door, which then swung shut behind them.

"What do you mean it failed? I thought you had it all planned out?" air nation girl said in an anxious tone. Herc crossed his arms and huffed angrily, then he glared in the direction of the boy still holding onto Alex's arm.

"Why don't you ask John?" he said with a frown.

Alex looked at the boy- John- and then at the air nation girl. They seemed to be having some sort of telepathic conversation as they were staring at each other intently. Then, John sighed and spoke.

"Everything was going fine but then-"

"Wait. Who is this guy?"

Alexander looked up at the sound of a new voice. In the corner he saw two figures he hadn't noticed when he first came in. There was a fierce looking girl with skin as dark as Herc's was, in fact she appeared to be around the same age as him too. She looked strong and beautiful with black curls framing her face. She was dressed in dark shades of pink and red; Alexander guessed she was fire nation.

He shifted his gaze to the next figure, also a young girl, maybe about his age- and... wow.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Scratch that- most beautiful person he’d ever seen. She was perched on top of a wooden table, her legs dangling off the edge. She was leaning forward and staring at Alexander with curiosity and a small smile on her pale face. Her long, raven coloured hair draped her shoulders and back. She was wearing a light blue robe with dark blue tights underneath, and her eyes were the brightest blue Alexander had ever seen. She had a little button nose and rosy cheeks. The light filtering in through the open window sparkled in her eyes which were staring right at him. She seemed soft and kind. Alexander was mesmerized.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?" the fire nation girl asked sharply as she took a few steps towards Alex. 

He snapped out of his daze- quickly wiping the dopey grin off his face- and looked up at the young woman towering over him and smiled sheepishly.

"Umm, I'm Alexander Hamilton," he replied with a weak, nervous laugh.

John sighed loudly and smacked his forehead with his palm. "The interesting part you idiot," he muttered.

Alexander was confused for a moment before he realized what John meant.

"Oh! And I'm the avatar," he added, readdressing the group with a wild smile.

The fire nation girl's fierce demeanour suddenly evaporated and she stood staring at him in shock. The air nation girl gasped loudly and he saw the beautiful water tribe girl hop off the table and walk slowly towards him.

"You're the avatar?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes sparkling with amazement. Alexander noticed her voice was soft and pretty, just like the rest of her. He felt himself blush a little at the sudden attention she was giving him.

"Yeah..." he said as he smiled at her. She smiled shyly back, amazement and wonder still glittering in her eyes. Unfortunately, he didn't have very much time to stare at her.

"Wait- is he reaaally the avatar or is he just saying that?" the air nation girl piped up suddenly, her arms crossed and her lips pursed in doubt. Alexander grinned at her.

"Don't believe me? Here, I'll show you.”

He held out his right hand and produced a small flame that hovered just above his open palm. Then, he held out his left hand and levitated a couple pebbles off the ground. They floated up to his hand and he kept them hovering above his open palm as well. He looked up and grinned widely at the air nation girl who was watching with her mouth hanging open.

"I'd do something more impressive but I don't wanna break anything," Alexander said with a shrug. He tried to keep his attitude nonchalant while the pretty water tribe girl stared in amazement.

"Oh my god," the fire nation girl said suddenly as she turned to Herc.

"Hercules! You found the avatar! Do you realize what this could mean for us?" She ran up to him and grabbed his hands excitedly, an ecstatic expression on her face. Hercules grinned down at her as well.

"I know. It could help us win the war," he said, matching her enthusiasm.

"Wait- win the war?" Alexander asked suddenly, dropping the pebbles back to the ground. 

The group stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. He realized he should probably explain himself.

"Sorry, but I haven't even mastered fire bending yet. And I have no idea what's going on with the war. I don't think I'd be much help to you," he said truthfully, his eyes wandering around to each of the stupefied faces.

"But- you have to help us! You're our only hope," the water tribe girl said suddenly as she stepped close to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He tried not to swoon under her touch as he replied.

"I- I'm sorry, but I don't even know who you are, let alone if I want to be on your side."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Alexander looked up to see Hercules had punched the wall in anger. He looked at Alex with a glare.

"You don't know who's side you're on? You mean you really think what the Fire Nation's doing is ok?!" he yelled angrily. 

Alex tried to explain himself. "No! I just-" 

"Do you think killing and oppressing other nations is ok? Do you think wiping out entire cultures is ok?!"

"Herc!" the fire nation girl said warningly.

"No! If he can't see which 'side' he should be on then he might as well just be on their side-"

"I never said I was on their side!" Alexander exploded suddenly. 

The room went silent. The water tribe girl's hand came off his shoulder. He took a breath and calmed down before continuing.

"You're right, the Fire Nation is harming and killing people. I would never be on their side. Hell, the Prince of the Fire Nation himself came to greet me and I told him no! But I'm still just figuring out what the world is like and _I have no idea who you people are_!" He couldn't help himself, he exploded again. 

That was the thing about Alexander, he never knew how to control his rage or his emotions. After having such a trying childhood he could never properly calm down. He felt like his stomach was in a constant ball of nerves.

Hercules stepped forward and outstretched his hand. Alexander's eyes widened and he took a step back, eyeing his hand tentatively. 

“I'm Hercules Mulligan, commander for the Sons and Daughters Of Liberty. Sorry for drawing conclusions,” Hercules said, his voice calm once more.

Alexander stared at him carefully for a second longer before shaking his hand. “Alexander Hamilton. And it's ok.”

Hercules nodded and then turned his gaze to the boy with all the freckles. He was seated cross legged on the floor and drawing images in the dirt. He stood up quickly once Hercules cleared his throat.

"Oh! I'm John- but some people call me Laurens. My full name is John Laurens, you see? Anyways, nice to meet you!" he babbled quickly, sticking out his hand. Alex laughed lightly at his enthusiasm and shook his hand. 

"He's the softest earth bender you'll ever meet," Hercules muttered, a glint of amusement in his eyes. 

"Hey!" John snapped with a frown.

Next, the fire nation girl stepped forward. She stared down at Alexander and was perhaps even more authoritative than Hercules was. She was definitely more intimidating.

"Angelica, commander of the Sons and Daughters Of Liberty, but I'm higher ranked than Herc here," she said with a small smirk and a glance at the man in question. Hercules scoffed but laughed along with Alexander as he shook her hand, shaking it out lightly afterwards from her firm grip.

Suddenly, in a burst of air, the air nation girl came swooping down in front of Angelica. She was beaming like the sun.

"Peggy, your fellow air bender at your service, Avatar Alexander Hamilton!" she said dramatically as she bowed deeply before him. Alexander laughed again. She seemed very spirited.

"She's also the team troublemaker," the water tribe girl quipped. Peggy stuck out her tongue at her and the whole team laughed. Alexander turned to the pretty girl who he had yet to meet.

"And you are?" he asked politely. She smiled and reached out a small, pale skinned hand. 

"Eliza, nice to meet you, Avatar," she said sweetly. Alexander took her hand and shook it.

"You can just call me Alex," he said sheepishly.

"Great! You've met all of us now," Hercules said with a bit too much enthusiasm, making it seem forced. He stepped up to Alexander. "Ready to help us put an end to this war now?"

Alexander paused. He really did want to help, he knew it was his duty as the avatar to bring balance to the world, but he didn't know how to do it. Still, he seemed to like this rag-tag group of teenagers. He grinned up at Herc.

"I don't know what I can do to help, but I'll do anything I can. I'm all in!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY MORE CHARACTERS AM I RIGHT?


	5. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a crazy fire bender and a goofy air nomad have a baby? 
> 
> The answer is apparently Lafayette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I’m super excited to update today because it’s my birthday! I wanted to get this chapter up sooner but I’m really busy during the week because of my job so this was the best I could do.
> 
> I hope you like it!

After Alexander got acquainted with his new friends, Hercules thought it would be a good idea to show him around town.

"So you've really never been to Republic City before?" John asked in disbelief. Alexander laughed hysterically at this.

"Are you kidding? I've never been off my _island_ before. This place is amazing! It's so big and there's so many people from so many different places," he said excitedly as he peered around at the busy shops and streets. 

"Yeah, well the whole city isn't like this," Herc said gravely. He looked off into the distance at what appeared to be a group of fire nation soldiers. He scowled at them. "The fire nation soldiers are here because the Fire Nation won the battle over the city. Now they think it's their territory. Those soldiers are just supposed to keep an eye on the city but really, they just use their power to hurt anyone weaker than them."

Alexander studied the look on Hercules’ face. His jaw was set and he kept looking forward with a dark look in his eyes. Alexander wondered if he was always so serious like this. He wondered what happened to make him so serious like this.

Alexander could hear the shouts coming from three blocks away. Their group rushed over to see what the commotion was about.

There was a large circle mixed of common citizens and fire nation soldiers surrounding a single fire nation soldier and a very old and feeble looking air nomad. Hercules pulled Alexander back from the crowd before he could get too close. 

“You don't want to get caught up in this. Keep your distance," he whispered warningly.

Alex and the rest of their gang stayed far enough away to see what was going on but not to be seen by any of the soldiers. Alexander watched the event go down right in front of him.

"I'll ask you one last time, airhead. Where's my money? You still owe me last week's taxes," the soldier yelled as he kicked the old man in the shins. The air nomad went toppling to the ground, collapsing like a weak wooden structure. He looked up at the soldier with a pleading look.

"Please, sir, have mercy! I will pay you back as soon as I can," he begged, hands clasped in front of him. The soldier just smirked.

"Oh, the great and proud air nomad begs for my mercy? What happened to 'our people are too enlightened to participate in such petty things as war and violence', huh?" 

The soldier looked around the crowd and got some cheers from his fellow soldiers, but the rest of the crowd stayed silent, watching with anxiety. The soldier turned back to the fallen air nomad and continued his speech.

"You know what I think? I think you people need to be taught a lesson! A lesson about how the real world works. See, in the real world we do this thing called pay taxes-" 

He gave the old man another swift kick to the ribs. The poor man clutched his side and doubled over in pain.

"And another thing we do is respect the authority-“ 

Another, harder kick sent the man skidding a couple feet backwards. Alexander felt his gut wrench in horror and disgust. He stepped out to go help the old man but Hercules grabbed his hand to stop him. He turned around to argue only to see Hercules shaking his head. 

Alexander sighed in agreement and then caught Peggy's eye. She looked ten times angrier than he felt. It was, after all, one of her people the soldier was harassing. She had her fist clenched around her staff and her face was red with anger. She was practically shaking.

"All right boys, I think this old-timer's learned his lesson!” The soldier leant down and pulled up the old man by grabbing a fistful of his orange coloured robes. He bent down, and spat in the air nomad’s face. "If you don't have my money by the end of this week, I think another lesson might have to be taught, understand?"

The man nodded weakly and then was thrown back to the ground. The soldier turned around and yelled for everyone to get back to their jobs. The crowd dispersed quickly and the group of soldiers walked off, laughing wickedly. 

Alexander glared at them as they passed and- as soon as they were gone- he ran over to the man and helped him back to his feet. 

"Thank you," the nomad muttered weakly before shaking Alexander's hand and limping slowly away. Alexander watched him leave with a pit in his stomach. He felt like he was going to be sick. How could someone be so cruel to someone so helpless and small? It disgusted him.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Herc staring at the old, hobbling man with a dark expression. He turned to face Alex and said, "This is what the fire nation does to hundreds of people each day. And that's just in this city, I believe it's even worse in other parts of the world."

"This is why we need you, Alexander. We need to put a stop to this," Angelica said from the other side of him. Alex frowned. He knew they were right- this needed to end- but he still didn't know what to do about it.

"I- I wish I could... but I don't know the first thing about being the avatar or saving the world for that matter," he replied sadly.

He felt so awful. He really wanted to help but he just didn't know how. If only he had a mentor or a teacher to guide him. But he had no one. He was alone, just like he'd been for the past three years.

Hercules and Angelica exchanged a look. They seemed to agree on something because Angelica nodded and said, "We should take him to see Lafayette."

"Lafa- who?" Alex asked, glancing between Angelica and Hercules. They both went to answer but John was the one to speak first (as always).

"Lafayette is the general of the Sons and Daughters Of Liberty. He's really crazy and smart and suuuper young to be a general. He's probably like the youngest general in history! But he's really cool, you'll like him a lot!" he said excitedly. 

Alexander barely had time to catch everything he had said. “Uh huh... and what's the Sons and Daughters of Liberty?"

"It's what we call the rebellion. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty are a group of skilled fighters and benders whose jobs are to fight against the Fire Nation whenever we can and by whatever means possible. We formed it about a year ago when the fire nation captured Republic City,” Hercules explained as they started walking back down the street. 

Alexander nodded in understanding, but inside his mind he had a million other questions. How many members were there? Who organized it? Who was in charge? What exactly did they do? His questions stayed floating around in his mind as Hercules continued speaking.

"We were actually in the middle of a mission right before you showed up and kind of ruined it.”

"Oh, yeah sorry about that. I thought John was just in trouble, I had no idea-" 

"No! It's ok, you totally saved my butt. I mean, I was just doing the mission but those guys were getting pretty aggressive.  My head still hurts from when he pulled me up by my hair.” John massaged the part of his head underneath his ponytail.

Hercules sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told you not to anger them, Laurens. We needed that information," he muttered.

"What information?" Alexander asked curiously.

"Oh, we needed to find out who they worked for. We knew it was someone from the fire nation who runs a gang of thugs but we needed names. I was supposed to get those names but I guess I kinda blew it," John explained, lowering his shoulders shamefully.

"It's ok, Johnny, we'll get 'em next time!" Peggy said cheerfully. John smiled at her weakly, but then his face fell.

"What did I say about calling me that?" he asked flatly. 

Peggy just grinned wickedly and blew a blast of air in his face, causing his hair to poof up everywhere. Then she laughed so hard she had to clutch her sides. 

They kept walking until they came to an old building. By then it was close to dark and the sun was setting. 

"Where are we going?" Alexander asked as Hercules scanned the streets to make sure they were empty. He held a finger to his mouth and motioned for Alex and the rest of the team to follow him silently.

He ducked in the alleyway beside the old, empty building and everyone followed closely behind. Alexander tried with all his might not to ask his question again. Hercules stopped suddenly and pointed to John.

"Can you open it?" he asked in a whisper. John nodded and stepped forward. 

"Open what?" Alexander asked. 

“Shhh!" everyone shushed him. 

He shut up after that.

John took a stance and punched the air with his fist. A slab of stone in front of him moved and Alexander could see down a dark staircase that descended underground. He smiled as nervous excitement flooded his senses. 

One by one they walked down the staircase, with Hercules going first and John going last so he could close the trap door. After that, they were in complete darkness.

"This is so cool," Alexander whispered. No one answered but no one shushed him either so he kept talking in a hushed voice. "It's kinda scary, but cool. Where are we going exactly?"

"Spirits, you never shut up, do you?" Angelica muttered. Alexander felt himself flush with embarrassment. Thank spirits it was dark.

"At least he's better than Peggy," Eliza quipped smoothly.

"Hey!" Peggy snapped.

"Shhh!" the group hissed collectively.

"Sorry," she muttered in reply. Although she didn't sound very sorry at all.

At last, they made it to the bottom and walked down a damp, cold hallway lit with torches. Alexander looked around in awe. He turned backwards to see that Eliza was staring at him with an amused smile on her face. Alexander smiled back and she blushed and looked away. 

"Ok, we're here. John, would you please do the honours?" Hercules said suddenly as they all stopped. 

John sighed and muttered under his breath, "Why is it always me?" He stepped up to the solid metal door and knocked in what could only be described as a secret code.

A slit in the door opened and a pair of eyes peered out and looked at them. Then, a voice spoke.

"Who is with you?" the eyes asked. 

Hercules stepped forward and said, "A friend and an ally. Trust me, you're gonna want him here."

The slide closed and then the door opened wide and a young man stood behind it, scowling at them. He was pale and had a long face with an even longer nose. Alexander wondered if this was Lafayette.

"Mulligan," the man nodded courtly at Hercules. His narrowed eyes scanned the ground. 

"I suspect the mission went well if you've brought all your friends?" he asked bitterly. Hercules scowled and crossed his arms.

"That's none of your business, Lee," he hissed at the man, "Now move aside. I need to talk to Laf.” 

Lee's face twisted into an expression of pure hatred. Alexander watched silently as him and Hercules stared down one another, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. He assumed there was some sort of history between the two of them... but what could have possibly made them hate each other this much? They were on the same side weren't they?

Lee grunted at that moment and moved to the side, allowing their group to pass as he glared down at all of them. Alexander felt the inkling feeling to punch him in the gut, but thought better of it and merely frowned at him as he walked past and into the room.

It was a big room, though it was dark and cold since it was underground. It was lit with torches mounted on the walls. Alexander looked to the centre of the room to see a large, wooden table filled with maps and what looked like battle strategies. At the end of the table were two men. The one at the head of the table looked young and strong, with frizzy black hair tied up on top of his head. The other was on his right side and looked much older, with a long, greying beard and hunched shoulders. Although he looked fierce as well. The two of them were having what looked like a very serious conversation. Even Hercules knew not to interrupt.

Alexander thought he'd take this moment of silence to ask some questions he had. He turned to John and whispered, "What's the deal with Herc and that guy, Lee?" 

John looked up and cast glances to both Herc and Lee before replying in a hushed voice. 

"They've always been at each other's throats. Herc always gets promoted to the position Lee wants and then Lee gets all jealous and mad. Herc says Lee's a coward and a disgrace and that's why he never gets promoted. But if you ask me, I think Lee has something he's hiding. He always seems on edge, like he's about to be caught doing something wrong at any second!"

Alexander's eyes widened as he took in this information. He stared long and hard at Lee. He did seem tense and a little on edge; maybe he did have something to hide.

At that moment, the man at the head of the table looked up and lit up with a wide smile. He stood and made his way over to them, his steps light and full of life and excitement.

"Hercules, mon ami! Thank goodness you have returned, I was getting worried," he said happily as he pulled a stiff Hercules into a hug. Alexander blinked and cleaned his ears to make sure he'd heard right. What a strange accent this man had... he had never heard anything like it before.

"Laf! Hey... could you let go?" Hercules mumbled. Laf let go and apologized quickly before turning to the rest of the group.

"How are you all? Angelica, Eliza- you two look beautiful as always! And Peggy- I hope you haven't been getting into any trouble!" 

Peggy smirked. "Not too much.”

Lafayette laughed joyously and turned to John and Alex. 

"John Laurens! How are-" he stopped when his eyes fell on Alexander, who gulped as the strange man's eyes narrowed unwelcomingly. "And who is this?" he asked as he turned to Hercules.

"Oh... y'know... no one special... just the _avatar_... no big deal." Hercules  shrugged, but his lips were slowly curling into a smile. 

Laf turned back to Alex, his eyes wide. He took a step forward, then stopped. Alexander felt very awkward under his stare so, naturally, he smiled and waved. Then he was overcome with regret. Why did he have such bad people skills?

"Well, if you really are the avatar then I must introduce myself, non?" Lafayette spoke, his face a huge smile again. He walked up and grabbed Alex's hand, shaking it with an iron-strong grip. 

"I am general _Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch, Gilbert de Motier, Marquis de Lafayette_! But most people call me Lafayette or Laf since that is such a ridiculous name. Seriously, I have no idea what my parents were thinking. And I will never know, because they are both dead. But it is no matter, I have much larger things to worry about, yes? Speaking of which-"

"Laf!" Hercules interrupted, an annoyed look on his face. "You're rambling again. And you're squeezing the life out of the avatar's hand.”

Lafayette looked down to see Alexander looking up at him with a pained expression hidden behind a shaky smile. He released his grip and Alex sighed in relief and shook out his sore hand. 

"My apologies, avatar. I have a bad habit of talking too much," Laf apologized with a smile and a wild glint in his eyes. Alexander smiled weakly back. He was a little terrified by this man, he wasn't going to lie.

"It's alright, Lafayette. I'm Alexander, by the way. You don't have to keep calling me 'the avatar'," Alexander replied. 

Lafayette frowned. "But, you are the avatar, non?" 

"Yes, but I prefer just Alexander. Or Alex." 

"Alright... ‘just Alexander or Alex’!" 

The room was silent safe for Lafayette’s snickering at his own joke. He looked around at all the unamused faces and waved his hand in the air. "Oh, come on. That was funny!"

There was still no reaction. Lafayette rolled his eyes but there was still a huge smile on his face. "Oh, you all are just a bunch of sticks in the mud! My people would have appreciated that joke." 

"Who are your people?" Alexander asked curiously. Lafayette turned to him and smiled widely, an excited look in his eyes.

"I'm from the city of Pa Rid. It's a city in between the northern air temple and the Fire Nation’s border. My mother was an Air Nomad while my father was Fire Nation. But- as you already know- they were both killed when the Fire Nation invaded my home and took over. Now I'm here to get revenge, see?" Lafayette spoke in much too happy a tone for such a horrible story. 

Alexander gaped at him, terrified. 

"See what I told you?” John leaned into Alexander as he whispered, “He’s mad.”

"I prefer _mad genius_ , thank you very much," Lafayette shot at John, but he was still smiling. John, however, grew stiff and afraid. Lafayette laughed heartily again and clapped Alexander on the back.

"Ok! I suppose we need to get back to business, yes? Oh- Admiral Knox! You're still here?" Lafayette asked the older man who was still seated at the table. He got up and headed for the door, bowing in respect to Lafayette. 

"I'll see you in three days-time, general," he said before closing the door behind him.

Lafayette nodded and waltzed back over to his seat, saying, "Good man, admiral Knox, but he is just as much of a stick in the mud as everyone else here. Only Peggy understands my humour, right Pegs?" 

Peggy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Laf, even the most wild of air benders wouldn't understand your humour.”

Lafayette sighed dramatically and sat down. "I guess I'll have to laugh by myself then.”

Lafayette shuffled some papers around and then sat up straight, looking around as the rest of the group took their seats around the table. 

"Ok, back to business! Commander Mulligan, your report?" Lafayette asked, suddenly serious. 

Hercules took a breath and bowed his head, unwilling to meet Lafayette’s gaze. "Unfortunately, our mission failed due to some... complications... but we will get the information we're looking for, I promise. I just need another chance, I won't fail you again.” 

Lafayette grew solemn with the reveal of this information. He stared down at the table, a complex look on his face. The rest of them waited in silence for his reply.

"It is alright, commander Mulligan. The mission may not have succeeded, but you did bring back a much greater victory..." Lafayette replied, turning his eyes on Alexander. 

Suddenly, Lafayette stood up and started pacing the room. Alexander watched his movements warily. 

“That's what he does when he's thinking," John whispered to Alex, who nodded in return. 

"Ok... I think I have something here," Lafayette started, still looking like he was concentrating very hard. He started talking quickly again, more so to himself than anyone else.

"So far, we have just been a small rebellion, hiding under the streets and fighting the small battles. But we need to do more, we can help with the bigger picture in this war. We've grown very strong in numbers and forces recently, and I think it's time we join the earth kingdom army in the real fight against the Fire Nation empire."

The group collectively gasped. 

Hercules stood up. "But- Laf! That's so dangerous, how will you get our followers to join? They may not want to risk their lives!"

Lafayette put up his hand to silence him and Hercules sat back down.

"I'm aware of the costs,” the general continued. “But so are all of our friends. And more importantly, we are all aware of the much greater cost, the cost of doing nothing. How much longer can we sit silently in the shadows? How much more abuse and oppression can our city take- can our _nation_  take? I, for one, do not want to find out. I want to take action! I want to do something! And I'm sure everyone else with the Sons and Daughters of Liberty will want to as well." 

Lafayette’s voice was so loud and full of emotion, it commanded the attention and respect of everyone in a room. Alexander could now see why he was the general.

"Commander Angelica, you know the most about our followers, do you agree with me?" Lafayette asked, turning to Angelica. 

The fire bender looked down in thought for only a moment and then looked back up at Lafayette. "I'm sure all of them would be more than grateful for the opportunity to do their part in winning this war.”

Lafayette smiled softly at her. "Thank you.”

Lafayette’s smile faded as he turned back to Hercules. Alexander could see something in his eyes, but he didn’t know what it was. 

"Commander Mulligan? Are you with us or against us?" Lafayette asked.

Alexander looked between Lafayette and Hercules, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He didn’t exactly know what was happening, but judging by their expressions and the expressions of everyone else in the room, the stakes were high. The suspense was almost unbearable. 

Hercules sighed, shoulders sagging as he shook his head.

"Of course I'm with you, Laf. I'm always with you," he said, a small smile on his face. Alexander guessed, just from the few short hours he'd known him, that a smile that sincere and vulnerable was rare for Hercules. Lafayette on the other hand, was beaming as much as he usually was.

"Good, because I really didn't want to have to ask you to leave, mon ami," the general replied.

Then, just as quickly as it had settled, all the tension and anxiety in the air evaporated as Lafayette bounced around excitedly. 

"So, it is settled then. We move our forces out into battle and the avatar will lead us on the way to victory!" he yelled, punching his fist into the air.

The room was quiet.

Lafayette looked around at all the blank faces in confusion. "What? Is something wrong with that?"

It was Alexander's turn to stand. He looked up at Lafayette with a solemn expression, knowing he was about to let the crazy general down. “Sorry, general Lafayette, but I can't do that. I mean- I want to- don't get me wrong... but I'm not ready... I'm not good enough yet, I'm sorry."

Lafayette stared blankly at him for a moment, blinking in stunned confusion. Then his face fell as he lowered his head and stared at the ground. The room watched silently as Lafayette seemed to have a conversation with himself inside his head. 

Then, Lafayette walked up to Alexander and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Of course I would not expect you to lead an army if you are not ready. But I need you to get ready. I need you to train, avatar Alexander. And train hard and fast, because we need to win this war." he said, his voice grave by the end. 

Alexander gulped and looked down nervously. "But- I don't know how to train! I have no teachers, no knowledge... where do I even begin?"

Lafayette took his hand away and sat back down, his thinking face back on again. Alexander sat down too and waited.

"How many elements have you mastered?" Laf asked suddenly.

"Umm, I know a fair bit of earth bending but fire bending is really the only element I'm close to mastering," Alexander replied.

"So, none then?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, legend has it that the avatar must learn water bending, then earth bending, then fire bending, then air bending. You already know some earth and fire so acquiring a water bending teacher is the most important right now..." 

He looked up at Eliza suddenly, a smile on his face. "Eliza, you can teach him! You are a water bender, yes?" 

Eliza’s head shot up at the mention of her name. Her eyes went wide and her face went as red as a tomato as everyone stared at her.

"Uh, Laf? I think you've overestimated me. I'm not nearly good enough to train the avatar. I've never had a real teacher myself," she said, eyes downcast. 

Alexander looked at her sadly. She'd never been taught either. He knew what that felt like.

"Wait!" Eliza spoke again suddenly, calling everyone's attention back to her. "I may not be able to teach him, but I know who can! The water tribe is full of master water benders, I'm sure if we traveled north we would find a teacher for Alexander no problem!" 

"Ayla can fly us there!" Peggy said suddenly, jumping up from the table. Everyone's faces lit up with excitement, understanding and hope. Everyone except Alexander, who still had no idea what was going on.

"Umm, the northern water tribe? Ayla? What?" he asked, utterly confused.

"Ayla is my flying sky bison! She can fly us all to the North Pole so you can learn water bending," Peggy explained, completely ecstatic.

"And the Northern Water Tribe isn't yer involved in the war, so I guess we won't have to worry about them attacking us," Hercules added, nodding slowly. 

"And then, after you have mastered water bending I'm sure we can find you an air bending master at the Northern Air Temple, It isn't far from the North Pole," Lafayette added, beaming like the sun.

"And I can help you with your earth bending along the way! I've had loads of masters, even if they were all complete dunderheads," John added.

"And I can do the same with fire bending," Angelica added.

Alexander had to keep whipping his head around to look at the next person who spoke. It was starting to become overwhelming but he also understood now what the plan was. 

He smiled back at all the beaming faces. “Let's do it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of drawings for the characters in this story but no where to post them! Should I make a tumblr for it?


	6. Unexpected Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the ‘spies’ tag will make sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!
> 
> Sooo this is later than I wanted it to be, but my summer has been crazy busy so far so this was the best I could do. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! 
> 
> (It’s not THAT sad)

By the time Alexander got back to the park where he'd left Philip, it was well past dark. He had spent all that time planning with Lafayette, Hercules, John, Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy that he completely forgot about his promise to his dragon friend. Now, he was walking around the park trying to find said dragon.

"Phillip? Phillip, are you out here buddy? Phillip," Alexander whispered so he wouldn’t be overheard.

No sign of the dragon could be seen. Alexander sighed and sat down on a grassy hill. 

Suddenly, there was a loud hissing noise and then a huff. Alexander looked behind him to see the great beast emerging from the shadows with an unimpressed look on his face. Alexander stood up and ran to him, throwing his arms around his thick, scaly neck.

"I'm so sorry, buddy. I know I broke my promise to you. I won't ever leave you alone for so long again, but you have to hear all about my day. It's been crazy!"

Alexander curled up under the wings of his dragon and started to tell him all about his adventures, about his new friends and the city and all the things he'd seen. About the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and the war. About how he was going to do his part to help end the war and bring balance to the world as the avatar, and how he was going to do that by mastering all four elements. 

"Tomorrow morning, they're all gonna meet us here, in the park. Peggy said she'd bring her giant flying bison, Ayla! I hope you two get along..." 

Phillip grunted in acknowledgment and Alexander decided to take that as a _I’ll be nice as long as the flying bison is nice_. He reached up and patted Phillip soothingly. 

"Don't worry buddy, you're still my favourite flying animal by far," he reassured the giant creature. Phillip purred in reply.

"Anyway, after that we're leaving right away. Hercules says there's no time to lose. Lafayette is gonna see us off but he's not coming because he has an army to lead. And then we'll be on course for the North Pole! I've never been there- although I guess I've never been anywhere- but I bet it's pretty cold. I don't like the cold. And I don't like water bending. Well, ok, I've never actually tried to water bend but I have this feeling that I don't like it-"

At that moment Phillip hissed loudly and cut Alexander's rambling off. He smiled and pet his dragon again. 

“Ok, ok, I'll be quiet. We both need to sleep anyways," he whispered. Phillip grunted and Alexander nuzzled down into his scaly side. Even though it sounded uncomfortable, it really wasn't, and it sure beat the stack of hay he was used to sleeping on. Alexander closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

At some point he managed to drift off to sleep. Phillip's wings kept him warm through the night. 

 

———

 

Alexander woke up early the next morning to the sunlight poking through the leaves of the trees. He blinked up at the treetops in confusion before he remembered where he was. He sat up, rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes, and looked around him. Phillip was no where to be seen. He guessed the dragon was probably searching for food somewhere, so he didn’t worry too much. He got up and stretched, popping his spin and cracking his neck. A rumbling sound then came from his stomach and he decided to go help his dragon look for breakfast. 

He started to walk around the park to look for Phillip. How hard could it be to find a giant, red dragon in broad daylight? Alexander walked down a small hill to the base of a small pond. 

The park was fine, but it wasn’t the definition of clean or beautiful. The water in the pond was murky and a brownish-green colour. Most of the grass was dry and yellow, and the air was slightly hazy. Alexander could still slightly hear the faint noise pollution from the busy streets just outside the park.

He kneeled down to the water and splashed some on his face. It was cold and refreshing and slapped any remaining bit sleepiness out of him. With his senses now sharp and alert he thought he heard the familiar hissing sound of his dragon. He looked around but saw nothing. Maybe he had imagined it? 

He turned back to the water but as soon as he did he heard the noise again, and this time it definitely sounded like Phillip. Alexander turned and stood up. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone shrieking piercing through the morning air. Alexander jumped at the noise and started running in the direction it had come from. He ran through the trees, dodging branches and hoping over roots until he came to a clearing.

Phillip was in the centre of the clearing, hissing menacingly at something. Alexander couldn't tell what it was because Phillip was blocking his view. 

"Phillip! What's happening?" Alexander shouted to get his dragon's attention.

Phillip turned his head and smiled joyfully upon seeing Alexander. He flapped his wings and trotted over to Alexander, bending down so he could pet him. Alexander chuckled as he did as Phillip wanted. "You're such a silly little dragon, aren't you?" he cooed, scratching at Phillip’s neck.

" _What_? 'Silly little dragon'? That thing almost killed me!" Alexander jumped at Peggy’s shrill voice ringing suddenly through the air. 

He popped his head around Phillip to see Peggy clinging desperately onto Angelica. She looked terrified while Angelica looked absolutely unimpressed. Alexander smiled sheepishly and stepped around Phillip. He opened his mouth to apologize when a figure in the corner of his eye caught his attention. 

His eyes fell on Eliza, who was huddled against a tree, clutching her arm with a terrified look on her face. His eyes widened when he saw her sleeve was stained red where she was holding her arm.

"Eliza!" he gasped as he ran to her, dropping to his knees as soon as he got there. He looked into her huge, blue eyes and placed a gentle hand on her knee. “What happened?"

Eliza swallowed and removed her hand from her arm.

"It's nothing- it just scared me and then I screamed and then I think it got scared and-" she started to explain, but Alexander pieced it together before she could finish. 

"Phillip did this to you?” He turned to his dragon who was sitting in a corner and looking guilty. He avoided Alexander's narrowed gaze with a shameful look at the ground. "Bad, Phillip! These are our friends, we don't hurt our friends!" 

"Alexander, it's ok,” Eliza pressed, “it was my fault, I scared him.” 

Alexander turned back to face her. She was smiling up at him, her blue eyes still wide, but the fear in them gone. He blushed and broke eye contact, looking at her wound instead. 

"But, he hurt you..." he protested, gently pushing the fabric of her sleeve away so he could examine the wound. 

"It's ok, I'm fine. Look," she said as she pushed Alexander's hand away. He watched as she used her good hand to open a canteen bottle and bend a stream of water out of it. She let the water cover her hand and then she pressed it gently against the cut. Alexander's eyes grew wide as the water started to glow. He watched in amazement as the cut vanished and the skin healed completely. Then, she bended the water back into the canteen.

"Whoa- how'd you do that?” Alexander stared wide-eyed at Eliza’s completely healed arm. There was just a huge, bloody gash on her arm and now it’s gone? How-

Eliza shrugged and averted her gaze shyly. "I have healing abilities. I use water bending to heal wounds.” 

Alexander couldn't believe it. You could use water bending to heal people? Why didn't they use that on his island? They could've helped so many people...

"You have to teach me how to do that,” he said excitedly as he grabbed her hand and helped her back up. 

Eliza flushed a deep pink colour and mumbled, "I could try.”

"Ok, I'm glad you're better Eliza, but we have a job to do," Angelica interrupted, stepping forward with a serious look on her face. Alexander's smile fell as he realized he should probably get serious as well. 

"Right,” he said as he scanned the woods for any sign of Herc, John, or Laf. “Where are the others?”

"They're on their way. Laf needed to talk to Herc about something and Johnny wanted to stay with them," Peggy explained from behind Angelica... she was still cowering away from Phillip. 

Alexander laughed as he gave his dragon a soft pat on his neck. "Don't be afraid of Phillip, he's just a sweet little baby.”

"I'll be the one to decide when I'm not scared of him, thanks," Peggy mumbled from behind her sister. 

Angelica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in annoyance. "Don't you have your own giant flying creature? How could you be afraid of this one?" 

"Hey! Ayla is a cute fuzzy baby. She's sweet and she loves me, unlike this fire-breathing monster," she snapped back. 

Alexander frowned. No one can insult Phillip like that. "Phillip isn't a monster! He's a cute scaly baby, isn't that right?" 

He turned to Phillip and scratched behind his ears. Phillip purred and fell on his belly, making Alexander laugh. "See?"

"Whatever," Peggy muttered. “I’m still staying away from that thing.”

"Where is Ayla anyway? Don't we need her to fly us?” 

Suddenly, Peggy hopped out from behind Angelica, a wild grin on her face. “Oh, I’ll call her now.”

Alexander eyed her warily. For some reason, he didn’t like the mischievous tone of her voice. He watched as Peggy pulled out an oddly shaped whistle from her back pocket and suck in an enormous amount of air. Alexander jumped and covered his ears just in time as Peggy blew as hard as she could into the whistle. 

Nothing happened.

Alexander lowered his hands slowly as he peered around cautiously. “Uhh... I think your whistle is broken.”

“Nope. Just wait for a second. She’ll be here,” Peggy said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest with a confident smirk. 

So Alexander waited. And waited. 

He peered around the trees again, thinking maybe he missed the supposedly giant bison the first time he looked. 

“I don’t see-“

A loud roar erupted from the sky. 

Alexander jumped and looked up to see a giant bison indeed. It soared above his head, circling around in the air before landing with a loud thud in front of Peggy, whose face immediately split into a wide smile. 

"Hey girl! I missed you so much," Peggy giggled as Ayla licked the side of her face affectionately. Peggy turned and beamed at Alexander as she led Ayla towards him. “This is Alex. He's the avatar and he's gonna help us save the whole world!" 

Alexander knew Peggy was just hyping him up to her bison friend, but the weight of her words left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He smiled through it though, grinning up at the giant animal.

“Hey, Ayla,” he spoke softly as he approached her, careful to not accidentally scare her into a frenzy that could result in him getting stomped on. “... How’s it going?”

Ayla eyed him for a minute, sniffed around his head with her giant snout, and then made a sort of contented grumbling noise. The bison stuck out her tongue and licked Alexander up from his stomach all the way to his face.

“Ugh.” Alexander winced as the bison licked the side of his face again, repressing the urge to vomit. “Thanks...” 

"Don't worry, it comes off easy,” Peggy snickered as she blew a blast of wind in Alexander’s face. He blinked, his fly-away hairs standing on end from the sudden burst of wind. At least all the slobber was gone. 

Unfortunately, that uneasy feeling in his stomach was growing. He shifted on his feet anxiously, looking for a distraction. “So, now that Ayla’s here, when are we gonna leave?” 

“As soon as Hercules gets here,” Angelica replied, straight to the point like always. Alexander was really getting the feeling that there was no nonsense with this girl. 

Still, he needed more in order to quell his nerves. “I was thinking more like a time estimate? How much longer are they going to be?”

"Alexander,” Angelica snapped, frowning sternly, “I get that you’re excited, but this is pretty serious business. You have to start acting like a leader.”

"Oh, lighten up Angie! We're just having fun," Peggy whined as she blew a puff of air at the annoyed fire bender. "Oh wait, I forgot, you're allergic to fun.”

“First of all, fun is a concept, therefore it isn’t possible to be allergic to it. Second of all,” Angelica said as she crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her chin up. “I am not.” 

Peggy rolled her eyes at Angelica, sighing dramatically. “Whatever," she drawled as she grabbed Alex's arm, pulling him over to Ayla. Then, in a much more upbeat voice: “Let's go take a ride!" 

"Not without us, you're not!" 

Lafayette suddenly emerged from the trees, towing Hercules and John right behind him. 

Peggy stopped, frowned, and crossed her arms. "About time you showed up," she deadpanned. 

“Yes, well, you know how I am,” Lafayette said, all chipper and smiling. “Talk talk talk, I don’t know when to stop.”

But, while Lafayette _was_  smiling, something about him seemed off. In fact, something about all of them felt off. 

Alexander’s eyes flicker over to Hercules, who was just as straight-faced and serious as ever, but his eyes seemed a little downcast... a little sad, even. 

And then Alexander looked over at John, who was standing a few feet back from the rest of them, fists clenched and scowling at the ground with emotions Alexander couldn’t read.

Alexander feared he might regret this, but...

“What’s going on?”

He had to know.

"Oh, it’s nothing,” Lafayette tried to shoo the topic away, but John cut in.

“Sorry we’re late, but some of us were too busy thinking only about themselves," he snarled, looking up in Hercules’ direction. 

The rest of the group turned to look at him as well, expecting but wary. 

Hercules stared back at John, calculating and stern but also... forlorn. He inhaled deeply, like he was trying to gather the courage to say, “I already told you, I have to do this.”

"You have to do what?" 

Angelica stepped forward, a very unhappy frown across her face. Her arms were still crossed.

The group remained silent; on edge. Everyone turned their eyes back to Hercules, waiting for an explanation. 

Alexander could literally feel the tension in the air, could sense the anticipation and anxiety. It wasn’t doing much to ease any of his own either.

He saw Herc and Laf exchanged a sort of silent conversation between themselves, something which only they could understand. Hercules then nodded- a look of reluctant understanding- and turned to address the group.

"Ok everyone, listen up,” Hercules started, shoulders back and head held high like usual. “Laf and I have been planning something big for awhile now, and we only just got the news this morning that our plan was ready to be put in action, effective immediately." 

"What plan?" Angelica asked skeptically.

"A stealth mission," Hercules replied. No one made a sound, but Alexander could've sworn he heard everyone gasp inside their own head.

"We have the opportunity to send someone into the fire nation army as a spy,” Hercules continued, never losing the nervous attention of the group. “They can infiltrate their command and collect valuable information and report back to us. It's a mission of high importance and we can't let it slip away, so we have to act quickly. Right now's the only chance we have and we have to take it.” Hercules bowed his head, his stronghold starting to crumble. “I'm sorry.”

"Wait... you're making it sound like _you’re_ going to be the spy," Peggy piped up, an odd, strangled smile on her face. She wasn’t going to believe it until-

Hercules looked up, looked right at her, his brows pinched, the corners of his mouth turned down just the slightest, his eyes shining with guilt. It was hardly any different from his usual straight-faced expression, and yet it rang so true and so loud.

And Peggy’s smile fell.

"That's right,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I'm going undercover.”

The group was quiet as they all processed the news. Alexander noticed that John had been silent the whole time, glaring at the ground. He looked angry, but also upset and betrayed and worried. It made sense, Alexander could only guess how close he was to Hercules.

"But why? Why you?" Eliza suddenly asked softly.

"That's right,” Angelica interjected, voice hard and angry as she glared at Hercules. “Why _you_? Why not me? _I’m_  more qualified.”

Alexander stared at her with wide eyes. He knew she was intimidating- he’d thought that since the moment he’d seen her- but _this_? This was just downright terrifying. 

Fortunately, Lafayette must be used to her temper, because he stepped up to her without any fear, only calm understanding. “ No, you have to stay with the avatar and help him with fire bending, ma chère”.

Angelica didn’t look at him, only at Hercules. She held his stare, a million emotions flashing over her eyes and yet her expression never changed. They both held their ground, although Hercules looked a lot less determined to win this stare-off game. 

But eventually, it was Angelica who surrendered.

"Fine. You're right," she sighed, breaking the stare and slumping her shoulders. “My job is to stay with the avatar and look after my sisters.”

Angelica took the three steps separating her and Hercules and looked up at him again. Only this time, there was no anger, there was no betrayal or hurt. There was only a tired sadness and worry.

"Just...” her voice was soft for once, and her eyes were sad, but no less serious. “Just be careful, ok?" 

Hercules nodded once. "I will." 

She gave him one last look, like she didn’t quite believe him, and then she nodded and stepped away.

There was a weird pause. Everyone in the group looked either frightened or upset in one way or another. Alexander observed everyone from afar. He barely knew these people, and yet it was still hurting him to see them in so much pain.

But what could he do?

"Herc,” Alexander started, stepping forward and winning the attention of the group.

He could try, that’s what he could do.

“I'm upset that you're leaving, as I'm sure everyone else is, and I'm frightened for you.” Everyone hung on his every word, and when he paused, no one looked away. “But I'm also proud. And I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I hope you stay safe.” He smiled- smirked- just a little bit. “But I also hope you kick some serious Fire Nation butt." 

Hercules chuckled and walked up to Alex, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “Of course. Thank you, Alexander.”

“Anytime.” He returned the smile, straining his neck a little to look up at Hercules. How tall was this guy exactly? 

Lafayette walked up and placed a hand on Hercules’ shoulder. He looked serious, almost sinister, as he said, “Mon ami, it is time.”

Hercules nodded, stepped away, and addressed the rest of them again. “Ok, I have to go. Goodbye everyone. Try not to cause too much trouble while I'm gone, yeah? I'm leaving Angelica in charge.”

"I'll try to keep them in check," Angelica replied, smirking. 

“Bye, Herc.” Peggy was trying her best to smile.

“Stay safe.” Eliza touched his arm softly before moving away. 

Hercules nodded, smiling at the two girls. “Bye. I will.” 

Hercules turned to John, who was still frowning at the ground, refusing to say anything. It was hard to tell, but Alexander could just make out the tears that were falling from John’s eyes. It nearly broke his heart.

Hercules took a deep, steadying breath and walked up to the earth bender.

“Hey,” Hercules said softly. John didn’t look up. In fact, he turned his head away even more. “Hey,” Hercules tried again, bending down and lightly lifting John's chin so they were eye to eye. 

Alexander could clearly see the young earth bender’s face now. He was a wreck. His eyes were pink and swollen and there were tear tracks all the way down his freckled cheeks. His usually bright green eyes were dark and full of pain and betrayal. 

"Hey, I'll come back. I promise," Hercules said softly, staring into John's eyes. The smaller boy swallowed dryly and wiped at his eyes. 

"You better, or else I'm going to come and get you myself," John choked out, smiling weakly up at Hercules.

Hercules smiled, released John’s chin and went to stand up, but not before John was jumping up, wrapping two arms around his neck and burying his face in Hercules’ chest. 

“Don’t die,” John whispered, barely audible as he clung to Hercules.

Hercules wrapped an arm around John and returned the hug, breathing in deeply. “I won’t.”

And for a moment, Alexander saw Hercules’ walls fall. He looked sad and... vulnerable. 

And then the moment ended and Hercules pulled away.

John sniffed, but managed a watery smile. “Go get 'em, Herc."

And then, Hercules and Lafayette were gone. 

 

———

 

After that, it wasn't long before they all left too. Angelica and John helped Peggy load Ayla with supplies and things they'd need for the long journey while Alexander helped Eliza plan the route they would take to get to the North Pole. 

Alexander had studied geography in depth on his island. He felt like the more he read and learned about it, the closer he felt to the rest of the world. So, he was able to distinguish the fastest way to get there pretty easily.

"Now actually finding the Northern Water Tribe will be up to you since I have no idea where it is," Alexander said to Eliza as they both studied the maps spread out on the grass. Eliza frowned and raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

"Why me?" she asked.

"Well, you're from the northern water tribe... aren't you?" 

Eliza shook her head and turned away. "No... I'm actually from the southern water tribe, but- well now Republic City is my home.”

Her voice was small and her expression made it seem like there was more to the story than that, but Alexander wouldn't dare push it out of her.

"Oh- sorry for assuming," he apologized lamely, feeling the back of his neck turn red in embarrassment. Eliza shrugged and seemed to push away any lingering feelings or thoughts of sadness she had and smiled at him.

"I guess we'll just have to fly until we see it. I mean, how hard can it be? It's a huge city in the middle of a frozen desert!" 

She was joking, trying to lighten the mood, with her arms spread wide and a goofy smile on her face. Alexander grinned. He liked her smile.

"We'll just have to look for the giant buildings made of ice," he replied. Eliza giggled at his joke and the sound of it made his heart glow with pride. She really was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"Alright children, we're ready to go," Angelica called as she placed the last sleeping bag on Ayla's back saddle. 

Eliza and Alexander rolled up the maps and ran over to the giant bison.

"We're not children!” Peggy huffed snootily. “And you're only 18, Angelica.”

Angelica smirked and ruffled the youngest of their group’s hair. 

"I'm technically an adult and since I'm the oldest out of all you I get to call you all children,” Angelica reminded her, smirking. “And I'm in charge, remember?" 

"Come on guys, we need to hurry. It's still gonna take us a few days to get to the North Pole and we don't have much time," John called from on top of Ayla. He was already waiting to go.

"Ok, we're coming. I just have to call- Phillip!" 

Phillip came crashing through the trees right at that moment, bouncing on top of Alexander just as he was about to call him.

"Hey buddy! You ready to go on an adventure?" Alexander cooed as he played with Phillip. 

From afar, Angelica and Peggy gave each other a sideways glance as they both remembered nearly getting attacked by the dragon not too long ago.

Eventually, Alexander got Phillip to calm down and they managed to all board Ayla, with Alexander flying on Phillip.

"Alright Ayla, yip yip!" Peggy called as she pulled on Ayla's reins. The great beast roared and clapped it's enormous tail to the ground. Alexander stared up in amazement as she took off, high into the air. It was amazing how such a huge creature could soar through the sky so effortlessly, as if it was weightless. He grinned as he patted Phillip's side, signalling for him to follow. He gave a huff and spread his wings, pursuing Ayla into the sky.

Alexander grinned wildly as he felt the rush of wind pull through his hair. He would never get sick of the feeling of flying. He crouched down close to Phillip's back so that there would be less drag. He managed to turn around and look down at the city he just left as it got smaller and smaller. He still couldn't believe how much his life has changed just over the past few days. A few days ago he thought he'd never get off his island, and now? Now he was on the back of a dragon, following a flying bison full of his new friends, and on a course for the North Pole where he was to learn and master water bending. 

He smiled into the sun as he caught up to the others, flying right by their side. Eliza smiled at him from where she sat on Ayla's back, her long, raven coloured hair blowing beautiful behind her. He smiled at her. Angelica and John were also on Ayla’s back, and Peggy sat on top of her head where she could guide her beloved pet. 

They were all there, all his new friends. 

All of Alexander’s previous worries blew away as he smiled at them. 

 

———

 

They flew for the whole day.

Angelica was stern, she said they needed to get as much flying done on their first day as they could. So they flew through the morning air and into the afternoon sun and on through the day until the sun started to dip low in the sky. Alexander rode on Phillip the whole time, his back becoming stiff and sore.

The rest of the group seemed to be getting restless as well. John was complaining about wanting to be on solid ground again. Eliza had voiced many times that she was cold. Peggy wouldn't stop whining since she started an hour ago, even if she had been well behaved for most of the day.

Alexander hadn't voiced any of his complaints, but he wanted to stop for the night too. It was getting dark and he knew by the way Phillip was flying that he was getting tired too. So, he turned to Angelica.

"Hey, I think we should stop and make camp for the night. Phillip is tired and I'm pretty sure everyone else is too. We've done a lot of good flying for today," he called out through the wind to Angelica. 

She looked around at the group and sighed. John was hanging his arms over the saddle and looking slightly green, Eliza was huddled in a ball in her sleeping bag, and Peggy was nearly falling asleep at the reins. 

"Fine, you're right. Can you find somewhere to land us, Pegs?" she asked Peggy who jumped awake at the sound of her name. 

"What? Oh, yeah I can. Down there seems good enough," she mumbled as she pointed at the base of a large mountain. They all nodded silently and she told Ayla to land. They all descended to the ground and landed softly by a small pond with lots of greenery surrounding it, the mountain standing boldly over it all.

"Ah! Sweet, sweet solid ground!" John cried as he jumped off of Ayla and onto the ground, lying on his stomach with his arms spread out, hugging the earth.

Peggy hopped off too and pat Ayla soothingly. "Who's a good girl? Who flew all day and is ready for her bedtime? You are! Yes you are!" 

Peggy seemed a little delusional... probably from the exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Angelica started to take out their tents and sleeping bags to make camp. 

"I'll help," Alexander called as he hopped off of Phillip. He patted the dragon's neck affectionately. "Go get some food boy, you earned it.”

Phillip didn't have to be told twice. As soon as he heard those words he was taking off again to go hunting for his dinner.

Alexander helped Angelica set up camp while John went to collect fire wood (rather begrudgingly) and Peggy and Eliza cooked up some of the rice they had brought along. 

"You just let Phillip go wherever he pleases?" Angelica asked as she and Alex propped up a tent. 

"Yeah, I trust him and I think he can take care of himself. He _is_ a dragon," Alexander joked, trying to ease the mood. Angelica just frowned.

"Well, yeah, but you're not worried he won't come back?" she asked.

"No," he replied without missing a beat, "I know he'll always come back. I think, in a way, we're connected somehow. Like he was always meant to be my animal friend." 

Angelica snorted, which turned into laughter, which then turned into hysterical giggling. Alexander raised an eyebrow in question at her sudden outburst.

"Sorry,” she said through her snickering. “I think I'm more tired than I though.” 

"Yeah, I think we all are." Alexander looked at Peggy and Eliza who were now eating steaming bowls of rice, both of them half asleep already.

They finished up the tents and went to grab some food. John came back with the fire wood and they made a fire in seconds (all Alex had to do was send a little spark with his finger and then _voom!_ ) and they all ate in silence.

"Ok," Peggy yawned as she got up and stretched, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight losers."

"Me too," Eliza said. Angelica nodded mutely in agreement and the three of them walked off into their tent. Then, it was just John and Alexander by the fire.

John was staring into the fire as is crackled and popped. His face was lit orange by the flames and Alex could tell that he was wearing the same sad and worried look from that morning. 

Alexander frowned, debating whether he should ask John if he was ok. On one hand, he knew John was upset and he wanted to help. On the other, he didn’t want to pry and end up making things worse.

In the end, he decided to just state what he already knew.

"You're worried about Hercules," he said, softly, from across the fire. 

John looked up suddenly- surprised- as if he'd forgotten Alex was still there. Then his face grew sad again as he looked down. Alexander thought he wasn't going to say anything, but then his voice lifted quietly from the other side of the burning fire.

"Yeah... I'm scared. It's scary, this war. And they're scary- the fire nation I mean. I mean they're completely ruthless and unmerciful and-"

John stopped, his voice cutting out as he stared at the ground.

And Alexander has always been good with words, but he wasn’t quite sure what to say to help John in that moment.

Still, he could try. 

"I know you're scared, but Herc is a smart guy, he'll be cautious. And, from what I've gathered in the twenty four hours I’ve known him, he's stubborn. He won't give up and he won't let himself fail. He'll come back.”

John smiled a bit and he guessed what he said must have gotten through to him somehow.

"Yeah... you're probably right. It's just-" John's face became pained again as his voice broke. "He's just always been there for me. I could always count on him. He was there when no one else was and-" John choked back tears "-and if anything happened to him-"

Alexander moved around to sit at John's side, close to him but not touching. John swallowed and continued, having calmed down a bit.

"He's always been like a brother to me, and I just can't lose him," he said softly as he shook his head, a couple tears falling from his eyes. 

"Well... I can't control everything, and as the avatar it's my job to bring balance to the world, but I know I can't save everyone. So...” Deep breath. “If something does happen to him, you should know that he did it while protecting the ones he loves," Alexander turned to face John, who was staring at him with wide, teary eyes. "He did it to protect you."

John nodded silently and let another tear fall from his eye. He turned back to the fire and they both sat quietly and watched it slowly die out. 

After a little while, John spoke again.

"If Herc doesn't make it..." he started, turning back to Alex and looking at him with now dry eyes. "Will you be my brother?" 

Alexander smiled as a warm feeling filled his heart. He'd always wanted a brother.

"I'm already your brother," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (But it’s gonna GET really sad)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> (Eventually)


	7. Cannons and Campfire Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theme song for this chapter is Fireball by Pitbull.
> 
> You’ll see why. 
> 
> Also, alternate chapter title: Alex and Eliza are so cute they make me wanna die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holaaaaaa!
> 
> I am so tired it’s unbelievable. So if there are more typos then usual... I’m sorry. I did my best to edit.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy this cute chapter:,)

Alexander was the first to wake up in the morning. He stretched as he stepped out of the tent and noticed Phillip was sleeping curled up next to Ayla. He smiled, glad to see they had already become close friends like he and John had the night before. 

He crouched by the pond and washed his face with the cold water. It snapped him awake and he cupped some into his hands to drink. 

He stared at the ripples he'd caused in the water as they spread out and out and out. He wondered if he could make the water do that without touching it. He shrugged and decided it was worth a shot.

He sat down crossed legged and focused on the rippling water. He placed his hand overtop of the water and breathed deeply. He knew the key to fire bending was in the breath, so maybe that was also the trick with water bending. He moved his hand back and forth slowly, expecting the water to follow the movements of his hand. 

Nothing happened.

He frowned and tried waving his hand side to side. Nothing again. He scowled and tried moving it faster and faster but the water refused to budge. He grunted in frustration and splashed the water angrily with his hand. Stupid water. 

Suddenly, there was a soft giggling noise from behind him. He turned around sharply to see Eliza watching him, hand over her mouth and blushing pink from holding in her laughter. He felt himself turn red in embarrassment as he struggled to explain himself.

"Eliza! Hi! I- I was just- um...” He turned back to the water sheepishly, sighing in defeat and letting his shoulders shrug in shame. 

Eliza only smiled fondly and took a seat next to him on the ground.

"You can't force the water to move, it's not like fire bending," she said as she placed her own hand over top of the water like Alex had. "You can't let your frustration and anger fuel you, you have to stay calm and still, like the water."

She waved her hand and Alexander's eyes widened as the water did exactly what he had tried to make it do. It followed Eliza's hand and made little waves as she pushed it back and forth. The wave kept getting bigger and bigger as she pushed it around but eventually she stopped and it splashed back down, creating many ripples.

"See? Just like that," she said with a smile. Alexander blushed and smiled back before he turned to the water with determination.

"Ok! I'm gonna try it.”

He breathed deeply and tried to feel calm and still like Eliza had told him. He moved his hand back and forth again, his eyes closed as he really focused on staying calm. But the more he tried to stay calm, the more panicked he got about being calm and starting calm. He opened his eyes and saw that the water still hadn't moved at all. He sighed and let his hand drop, defeated.

"I'm no good at this," he muttered. Eliza placed a soft hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her in surprise. She smiled sweetly.

"You'll get it, don't worry. It takes time, and that's why we're going to the North Pole in the first place. You'll master it no problem," she said. Alexander beamed at her, completely blown away at how kind and sweet she was. 

"Thanks, Eliza," he said.

"Hey! You two lovebirds wanna give us a hand or what," Peggy shouted from where she, John, and Angelica were packing up their things and loading them back onto Ayla. 

Alexander and Eliza turned away from each other, both blushing profusely as they got up and ran to help the others.

Soon, they were all packed up and ready to leave again. They all climbed back on to their respective animal and took off into the air. 

The day was bright and sunny again, much to everyone's pleasure. They flew due North for a few hours before Eliza told everyone that they needed to fly more towards North East if they wanted the quickest way to the North Pole.

The change of direction didn't affect them much. That is, it didn't affect them until they'd accidentally run into a fire navy battleship, on patrol near the edge of the Earth Kingdom territory. 

"Uhh guys.... I think they spotted us!" John called as they all cautiously observed the ship from up above. They stayed quiet, anticipating for something to happen. 

"No... I think we're too high up," Angelica said in a hushed voice. They all relaxed a little, letting their guard down, then-

_**Clang!** _

Alexander looked down to see a flaming boulder being flung in their direction. Ayla roared loudly and swerved to dodge it. The group screamed and held on tight as it whizzed by them and plunged back into the ocean.

Alexander whipped back around only to be met face to face with another huge rock on fire. He yelled as Phillip dove underneath it just in time. He gripped onto the back of his dragon and shut his eyes tight as he felt the heat of the flames fly over top of him.

"Ok, they definitely saw us!" John screamed as yet another boulder came flying through the air.

"Peggy get us out of here!" Angelica yelled in a panic.

Her eyes narrowed and her jaw set as she clenched her fists, a look of pure determination and focus on her face. Another bolder came flying and she jumped into action, hitting it with a blast of fire. Unfortunately, this didn't help much since the rock was already on fire. It just heated up more and lost some of it's height, plunging back down to the ground sooner and nearly hitting Ayla in the face. The beast roared in terror.

"HEY! WATCH IT ANGELICA!!" Peggy screamed at her sister as she pulled harshly on the reins to get Ayla back on course. 

"Ugh! I can’t do anything about these fire balls- I just make them more hot!" Angelica yelled angrily. Another one came their way and this time John took action. 

He stood up and ran to the front of Ayla's saddle. The bolder was just about on them, ready to hit Ayla right in the face. He jumped over Peggy and on top of Ayla's head. He scrunched up his face in concentration, summoning as much strength as he could. He pushed both hands in front of him, palms facing toward the rock. He grunted as he felt the impact of the rock. It slowed down considerably but didn't quite stop as John held it in mid-air. The sheer force of it’s momentum started to push him backwards. He fought through it and pushed back, moving his arms to the left. The bolder followed and John yelled as he used his last bit of strength to push it all the way to the left. It fell back down to the water with a huge splash.

"Ugh-" John grunted, all the strength drained from him after bending a rock so big with so much momentum. The wind blew him backwards and he didn't have the energy to fight it. He staggered and tripped, falling into Peggy's arms. 

"Whoa! Thanks, Johnny," she said with a smile as he shrivelled up in her arms.

"Don't make me do it again," he muttered.

"Well, I'll try to get us out of here, but Ayla is so scared she's barely listening to me!" Peggy took the reins again, John still slumped in her lap. 

Alexander's eyes widened as another three boulders came in their direction. He looked back at the others desperately. He caught Eliza's eye. Without hesitation, she nodded and stood up, flicking open her canteen bottle.

Phillip pulled up in front of Ayla. The first boulder came. Alexander stood up and jumped off his dragon. 

It was like everything went in slow motion from there. 

He didn't know exactly what to do but his instincts kicked in and took over. He punched the air in front of the flaming boulder and it fizzled out and collapsed, crumbling to a million pieces which fell to the water before it hit them.

Gravity kicked in and Alexander started to fall through the air, but Phillip was right there in no time to catch him. Alexander clung to his dragon for dear life, his heart pounding. 

But the next boulder was upon them in the next second, and this time Eliza flew into action.

She jumped off of Ayla and onto Phillip's back. She bended the water out of both of the canteens strapped to her hips. With her left hand she covered the boulder in water, extinguishing the flames, and with her right hand she used the water to slice the rock in half. The boulder split down the middle and both sides fell back into the water below them with a loud  _splash!_

The group went to take a collective sigh of relief, but the third fire ball was now right on them, so Alexander wasted no time. 

He jumped in front of Phillip and into the air. He flailed his arms around wildly, desperately trying to blow out the fire. It worked, the Fire sizzled out and he landed on the rock's surface with bent knees. Then, he sprang off of it, kicking it right down to the water. It fell and he flew a couple more feet in the air before he too fell back down and onto Phillip's back again.

His heart was pounding, he could hardly breath, panic and adrenaline were coursing through his veins and-

"Ahh!”

The scream came from behind Alexander. He turned to see Eliza had lost her balance and was slipping off of Phillip.

"ELIZA!"

He lunged forward in a spark of panic and grabbed her hand. He yanked her back on and she grabbed his arm with her other hand.

"Thanks," she gasped as her heart pounded harshly. 

Alexander held onto her tightly and muttered, "no problem," with a smile of relief.

“I think they ran out of rocks to hurl at us," Angelica said as she peered over the side of the saddle. 

It had indeed appeared so, as no more rocks came flying their way as they passed over the ship. Ayla was still scared and flew as fast as she could to get out of there. Phillip flew alongside her, easily keeping up.

None of them relaxed until they couldn't see the ship anymore, though.

"Well that was close," Peggy said after a moment. They all exhaled and laughed, almost hysterical with relief after the amount of panicked adrenaline the event had put them through.

"I really hope we don't run into any more of those ships," Eliza said from behind Alexander. She was still holding on tight to him, her arms wrapped around his waist as he flew Phillip. 

"Unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing a lot more of them,” Angelica said gravely. “They probably sent word to the other ships in the area of our whereabouts.”

"Do you think they know who we are?" John asked from Peggy's lap. He seemed to be fine now but he also seemed to have no intention of moving anytime soon.

"Well, I doubt they know who we are but they probably guessed who Alex is by the way he was bending two elements,” Angelica stated.

“Three,” Peggy corrected, turning around to shoot Alex a huge grin. “I saw those airbending moves you pulled back there. Not too bad, but they were pretty panicked and sloppy.” 

Alexander laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah... I don’t have a lot of practice with aorbending yet. I kinda just flailed my arms around and hoped for the best.”

Peggy smirked, laughing a little to herself. “Yeah, that was obvious.”

Alexander’s smile dropped into a frown.

“Well, what do we do now?” Eliza piped up again from behind Alex. “Do we keep flying and just hope we don’t run into any more Fire Nation ships?”

They all frowned, deep in thought. On the one hand, they were clear of that _one_ fire navy ship. On the other hand, they were probably going to encounter many more, possibly a whole fleet.

"Well, what can we do? Do we change our course?" Peggy asked.

"No, they don't know our exact course so I doubt it'll change our chances if we alter it,” Angelica said, thinking out loud. “I say we keep on track until we hit land and make camp somewhere hidden and safe for the night. Hopefully they'll abandon the area after a day or two of no sightings of us.”

"But what if we run into them before we find land?" Peggy asked. 

Angelica shrugged. "We'll just have to hope that we don't."

It was a dark thought, but it was the truth. Alexander nearly felt sick once he realized that this was probably gonna be his life now. A life of running for their lives and getting attacked by ruthless Fire Nation forces. 

Well, at least for now they were all safe. At least for now Eliza's arms were still wrapped tightly around him. 

He smiled as a blush formed on his cheeks, and he vowed right there and then that no matter what, protecting her and his friends was the most important thing. No matter how many battleships he had to fight, he was going to keep them safe.

 

———

 

Miraculously, they made it to land a couple hours later without any sign of Fire Nation ships. They all collectively sighed in relief and exhaustion as they landed safely on the ground in the middle of a dense forest.

"Good girl, Ayla," Peggy muttered as she stroked the bison's head from where she was sprawled out on her stomach, completely worn out. The beast huffed in reply and flopped down on her own stomach, even more tired then all of them combined.

Phillip however, was up and ready to go hunting. He was bouncing as soon as they touched ground, eager to go off and explore on his own.

"Whoa, Buddy! Let us off first," Alexander laughed as Phillip calmed down for two seconds. He swung a leg over and hopped off, looking back up to Eliza, who was peering down at him with uncertainty.

"Come on, just jump off," Alexander said as he held out a hand for her. 

She frowned and inched down the side of Phillip's back slowly and carefully. But apparently Phillip didn't have the patience for her, and he bucked up his back and sent her falling off his side. 

"AHHH- oof!" 

She cried as she fell off and into Alexander. He stepped back with one foot to support her weight as he caught her in his arms. She clung onto him, her arms wrapped around his neck for support. She looked up and into his eyes, her face full of shock after what just happened.

She gazed into his eyes for a moment, so close she could hear his heart beating. He stared back with a look of equal surprise, his dark brown eyes gazing at her. And then she realized exactly how close they were and her heart jumped into her throat.

"Sorry!" Eliza squeaked as she jumped out of his arms, her face positively red. She looked away shyly and tried to cover her face so he wouldn't see how much she was blushing. 

"It's ok," he said with a wide smile, his insides turning to mush at how cute she looked, facing away from him in embarrassment. She smiled sheepishly and pointed towards the others who had started to set up camp.

"I'm gonna go help them," she mumbled quickly before taking off to join them. Alexander smiled as he watched her leave. 

Then, he too decided to help out and make camp for the night. 

 

———

 

After setting up tents, collecting fire wood, and learning a few earth bending tricks and stances from John, dark had fallen and they were all seated around a cozy campfire again. 

The forest was full of small, woodland creatures which Phillip managed to catch with ease. He had brought back a wild turkey for them and Angelica plucked and roasted it for them while Eliza made some more rice.

The night was warm and peaceful as they talked and laughed by the fire while they ate. 

"Did you see how I moved that boulder,” John exclaimed, his eyes wide in excitement. “And it must have weighed like a ton too!" 

Peggy scoffed a laugh and folded her arms, smirking wickedly at him. “Yeah, but afterwards you couldn't even stand! You fell right into my arms!" She teased him as she shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth. 

John scowled and crossed his arms in indignation. “Whatever! At least I stopped it from crushing us.”

"Yeah but you only took out one. Alex must have taken out three all by himself," she countered. John gawked at the words that came out of the young air nation girl's mouth.

"That's not fair, he's the avatar! You can't compare me to the avatar," he protested.

"Yeah, nobody even comes close to Alexander's level," Eliza said as she stole a glance at him. 

Alex positively beamed and turned to her. “But how amazing were you out there! You freaking jumped onto Phillip from Ayla's back and cut a boulder in half with _water_! Seriously, how did you do that?" 

She smiled shyly and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Oh, it wasn't that great," she muttered, blushing profusely.

"Of course it was! It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen,” Alexander insisted. Eliza gazed at him, her eyes sparkling. 

"Ughhhh!” Peggy’s groaning suddenly interrupted the moment. The air bender was dragging her hands down her face in annoyance. “Somebody knock me out before these two start making out.” 

John erupted into laughter while Angelica just bit her lip, trying to hold it in. Eliza and Alexander laughed nervously, trying to hide their embarrassment. Alex could feel just how red his face was getting just at the mention of kissing Eliza.

"Well, I'm going to bed,” Angelica announced, getting up and stretched her long limps. “Don’t stay up too late, children,” she called over her shoulder, half-jokingly and half-seriously, as she walked back to the girls’ tent.

Peggy pouted and crossed her arms. "I hate it when she calls us that.”

There was a moment of silence between the four teenagers as they all watched the fire burn. The night was calm and peaceful, just the right temperature. The sky stretched forever above the treetops and was dotted with sparkling stars. Alex stared up at them in awe. They were the same stars he used to stare up at from his pile of hay all those years and yet they seemed so different now, so much more beautiful.

He stared at them for a long time, for so long that he didn't even notice John and Peggy get up and go to bed. He was lost as he searched for the patterns and the constellations he knew by heart. Astronomy was something else he taught himself in his spare time on that island. His heart ached as he spotted the Big Dipper, his mother's favourite constellation. 

"You see all those stars up there?" Alexander spoke suddenly and softly, careful not to disturb the tranquility of the night. 

Eliza picked up her head from staring at the fire and looked up at the stars with him. She smiled at their beauty.

"Yeah," she whispered back.

"Can you believe that most of them are so far away from earth that it takes thousands of years for the light to reach us?" 

Eliza didn't reply, she just stared up in wonder.

"Most of them are probably already dead, and we have no idea because they're just so so far away."

 Alex spoke so softly. Eliza looked at him as he stared up at the stars. The light from the fire was dancing across his face, making dark shadows. He looked wistful, a little sad even. And then...

"I feel that way sometimes," he whispered.

"What way?" Eliza prompted, curious and a bit concerned.

He didn't answer for a long time. Eliza thought maybe he would never answer, but then...

"Like I'm so far away from everyone. Like I have no way of knowing if they're still burning, or have been dead for a very, very long time."

 His voice was only just audible, nearly drowned out by the crackling of the fire. 

Eliza scooted closer to him on the log they were seated on. She placed a gentle hand on his knee. He jumped at the touch, snapping out of his trance, but she didn't flinch. Her hand stayed there and she smiled at him. She looked into his eyes, he looked into hers. His were scared and so full of wonder, she could see the spark that was always there, flickering to keep him going. He was so great, there was no other way to describe him. He was so great.

"Do I feel far away to you? Right now?" she asked in a whisper. He stared at her for a minute, a little confused at the question. And then he nodded.

"Yeah, you seem far away. Like you're here, but you're not really here, you're far away. And I can touch you, I can see you, I can hear you, but I don't know if you're there," he said. Eliza frowned. She wanted him to see her, to hear her, to feel her. She inched closer.

"Well I'm here," she said.

"I know that. I can see you. But..."

A beat. She gave him a beat to continue before helping him.

"But?"

He hesitated, unsure and a little scared.

"But I can't know for sure that you're really there. That you're here and you'll always be here. Like the stars, I see you, but I don't know if you're still here or if you'll always be here."

Eliza stayed staring at him. She wanted to understand, but she was lost. She didn’t know exactly what he was talking about, but she knew she could do something to help. She moved her hand to his, placing it softly on top as she stared into his eyes.

"I'm here."

"I know."

Silence again. Perfect, peaceful silence between them as they stared at one another through the light of the dying fire. She leaned in ever so slightly, not really sure why. Alexander noticed. His heart skipped a beat and he panicked, detaching himself from the situation and moving away suddenly.

"It's late," he said, his brain on autopilot, "we should sleep."

Eliza blinked in surprise; disappointed, but she wouldn't let it show. She smiled and nodded kindly. “Of course. Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additionally, I thought i’d mention the ages of all the characters so far since I might have forgotten to in the story 
> 
> Peggy- 13  
> John- 14  
> Alexander- 15  
> Eliza- 15  
> Angelica- 18  
> Hercules- 19  
> Lafayette- 18   
> James Reynolds- 25  
> Charles Lee- 20 (only briefly mentioned... so far...;))
> 
> That’s it for characters so far I think! Hercules is very much the ‘dad friend’ and things are a little chaotic while he’s gone lol


	8. Late Night Ambushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now the ‘lots of original characters’ tag will make sense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I! Love! This! Chapter! And! The! Next! Chapter! So! Much! 
> 
> I am soooo excited to finally publish this chapter and I can’t wait for the next one too I love these OC’s and these chapters so much!!!!!!!!
> 
> Ok have fun reading:))))))

  
_Alexander was back at home. He blinked in surprise as he turned in a circle, looking around in confusion at the walls of his old house. It was just as he remembered it, small, messy, barely standing, but still so safe and warm and happy._

_He drew his eyebrows together in confusion._

_"How did I get here?"_

_He heard something come from the bedroom. He turned and started to walk cautiously. He placed a flat palm on the wooden door and pressed it open slowly. The room came into view, again, just as he remembered it. The dresser with the creaky drawers on the right wall. The bed side table with the crooked leg next. The bed with the dark red sheets and velvety blankets._

_And his mother._

_His mother in bed._

_Sick. Dying._

_Just as he remembered._

_"Mom?" he asked, his voice small and hoarse as the sadness and heartache overwhelmed him. He stepped into the room slowly._

_"Alexander... my child," she croaked, her voice weak and her skin pale and clammy. Her brown, wavy hair was sprawled out across the pillow like a fan and her brown eyes were glossed over as she stared at Alexander. She reached out to him with a weak, bony hand._

_"I need you, Alex," she said._

_His_ _heart gave out and the tears fell._

_"I'm sorry," he choked out. "I can't help you, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry mamá!"_

—

Alexander bolted upright in his sleeping bag as he awoke. He panted and gasped for breath as his heart pounded in his ear. He swallowed dryly and gripped at the edge of his blanket for grounding.

It was just a dream.

Except, that did little to comfort him. What he had seen in the dream had actually happened. It wasn't just a dream, it was a reality, but it was also a nightmare.

He suddenly realized his face was wet and he wiped the semi dry tears off his face. He must have been crying in his sleep.

He looked over to his right and saw that John was still sleeping soundly next to him. He exhaled quietly in relief. The last thing he wanted was to inconvenience someone else with his problems, he could deal with those alone.

He laid back and tried to fall asleep again, but every time he closed his eyes he saw the nightmare again. It was no use. He rolled over onto his side and watched John's chest rise and fall as he breathed evenly. His face was perfectly calm and his eyes were fluttering slightly. He was dreaming. Alexander wondered what he was dreaming about. He hoped it was something good.

Suddenly, Alexander heard something. It wasn't something particularly big but it didn't sound natural either. He sat up and listened more intently.

There it was again!

It sounded like hushed voices, but they were too quiet for him to hear what they were saying. But there was no doubt about it now, someone was outside the tent.

His heart rate started to pick up as he crouched down on all fours. He crawled silently to the door of the tent and listened for the voices. From what he could tell, there were at least three of them and they all sounded like men, so it definitely wasn't the girl's trying to pull a prank on him and John.

Alexander suddenly remembered John was there too. He looked back at said boy who was still sleeping soundly. Should he wake him? He might make noise if Alex woke him up, therefore revealing to the attackers that they were awake. No, right now he had the element of surprise and he needed to keep that trick up his sleeve.

He listened for the voices again. They were behind the tent. He opened the flap cautiously and peaked his head out. No one was there. He crawled out slowly and silently, looking in every direction to make sure he hadn't been spotted.

Once out he stayed low, walking on his feet and hands stealthily, like a cat stalking it's prey. He rounded the corner to the side of the tent, checking around it first to make sure no one was there. He could see the silhouette of a person coming from behind the tent.

His heart was beating so loudly in his chest he feared they might hear it as he inched closer. He could feel adrenaline coursing through him as his body prepared to attack. Every hair on his body was on end and all five of his senses were peaked. He saw the shadow grow smaller as it moved away. He needed to act fast.

_Now or never, Alex_ , he told himself.

He took a breath and jumped around the corner, his hands already up and ready to shoot a blast of fire at whoever was there.

But no one was there.

Alex lowered his arms as he stared in confusion, his heart still beating like a drum. Where did they-

" _HMPH_!"

A spark of fear shot through Alexander as an arm wrapped around his torso and a hand clamped over his mouth. His eyes went wide as panic and fear kicked in and he started to fight against the person who had hold of him. The hushed voices were speaking around him but he could barely hear them over the pounding of blood in his ears.

"We got him! Quick, tie him down and get the others.”

"Got it- wait, where's the rope?"

"What do you mean, 'where's the rope'? It's right there!"

"No it's not!"

"Well find it and tie him down!"

Alexander struggled and fought. He kicked and tried to wiggle his arms free, but he was stuck. He tried screaming out for help but nothing more than muffled noises got through the strong hand on his mouth.

He could feel the panic churning in him. He couldn't get free. What was he going to do? He could feel someone grab his hands and wrap something thick and scratchy around his wrists.

"AHH- uff!”

Alexander's heart stopped. What was that? He tried to turn around to see who had made that sound, but his captor had him held in an iron grip.

"What the- AHHH!"

"Hey! Ugh- oof!"

There was a blast of fire. Alexander felt the heat on his left side and saw the light from it. He twisted to try and see what was happening.

Another blast of fire- three more blasts of fire! What was going on?

Alexander had had enough. He needed to know what was happening. With a surge of great force he twisted around, kicked at his captor and shot a blast of fire right out of his foot. It hit the guy and he yelled in pain and jumped back, dropping Alexander in the process.

He was free!

But his moment of victory didn't last long because just then there was an arrow whizzing past him, just missing his right arm. He jumped away and then sprung into action, taking a stance and firing a fire ball at the first guy in his sight.

With the light from the fire he could actually get a good look at them. They didn't seem like Fire Nation soldiers, as he expected them to be. They were wearing black capes with hoods and masks made from wood. Two of them had long spears and another one had a bow and arrow.

Suddenly, there was another blast of fire. He turned in the direction it came from to see that Angelica was duelling a fourth guy who had a giant club with spikes. So she was the one who had shot the fire earlier. She saved him!

Another arrow whizzed past him, bringing his mind back to the battle at hand. He turned and sprang into action, dodging arrows and spears and shooting blasts of fire when he had an opening.

"Get the intruders!" the big one with the club yelled.

"We're trying, but they keep slippin' away!" spear man number one said just as Alexander set his spear on fire. He shrieked and threw it on the ground.

Suddenly, John was poking his head out of the tent, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. “What's going on?” He yawned, opened his eyes fully, and then he was shrieking and narrowly dodging an arrow. “AH! What the-!”

He had just crawled out of the tent, sleepy and confused, but now he was wide awake. He jumped into action as well and bended the earth below spear guy number two who was advancing on him. The earth shot up like spikes and trapped the spear guy. He grunted and tried to struggle free but he was stuck between the earth spikes.

Meanwhile, Alexander had his guy running for the hills. He had no more weapon and he was already fairly cowardly with it, so without it he was just screaming and running while dodging fire blasts.

Suddenly, Eliza and Peggy hoped out from behind their tent and sprung into action. Peggy blew a blast of wind at the cowardly guy, sending him flying backwards and right into Alexander, who grabbed his hand and twisted it behind his back.

"OW!" he yelped as he dropped to his knees in defeat.

Meanwhile, Eliza had advanced on the bow and arrow guy. She bended the water out of her canteens and froze the arrows that were fired at her midair so that they simply fell to the ground.  
  
She dodged and moved quickly around the guy, getting closer and closer. And then, in one swift move, she covered the entire bow with water and froze it to his hand. Then, just to be sure, she also froze his feet to the ground.

"Nice going, Eliza!" Alex hollered in praise. Eliza crossed her arms and smirked smugly at her frozen opponent.

The last one left duelling was Angelica, since she had the biggest and obviously best fighter to beat. She was panting as she just barely dodged the next swing of the club. She was growing tired and slow, but so was her opponent.

But she wasn't alone now. Without even asking, John, Alex, Eliza, and Peggy were surrounding the last man standing, all with their arms up and ready to fight next to Angelica. She smiled around at them gratefully before turning back to the guy who had now dropped his club in surrender.

For a moment, no one moved. Alexander didn't know what to do now. They had caught all the bad guys but what were they supposed to do with them? Luckily, Angelica looked like she knew what she was doing as she stepped forward and started speaking.

"Why are you here?" she demanded, her strong voice booming through the now calm woods.

"Well it's _our_ forest, trespasser!" the archer hissed angrily.

"Quiet, sharpshot. I'll answer the questions," the leader ordered in a calm yet firm tone. He turned to address Angelica and spoke.

"We live in this part of the forest and we protect it from ruthless fire benders like yourselves," he said, adding a little bit of an edge to his voice by the end of it.

"Hey! In case you haven't noticed, we're not _all_ fire benders," Peggy spat as she blew a small blast of air at him.

"Peggy! Don't provoke the attackers," Angelica scolded.

" _Attackers_?” The archer raised his head and squared his shoulders, hissing at Angelica. “YOU'RE the attackers! Killing everything in front of you with a wave of your hand- you're all _monsters_!”

"Sharpshot! Quiet yourself," the leader demanded.

Alexander was confused. These people thought they were attackers? That they were going to destroy the forest? Why? What made them look like such and threat? And what had already happened to cause them to attack anyone in the forest who might be a threat?

When Alexander had finally figured out what to do, everyone was engaged in a yelling match. He couldn't even tell what anyone was saying over all the commotion.

"Hey!" He called out, but no one listened.

"HEY!" He tried again, but still no effect.

Frustration crept up inside him and before he could help himself, he let it out by sending a huge blast of fire into the air. The fire lit up everyone's faces and they all stopped arguing as it roared for a second and then died out again.

"Thank you! Now listen up," Alexander demanded. He stomped the earth with his right foot and it shot up a foot underneath him so that he was standing taller than everyone. “Now, I don't know why you thought we were here to destroy your forest, but I can assure you we are not going to. We're only here seeking refuge for a few nights and then we're leaving.”

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" the leader asked, immediate and apprehensive.

"Yes! How do we know you're not lying so that you can get away and burn down everything- just like your kind always does,” the archer added angrily.

Alexander felt anger heat up inside him, especially at the 'your kind' remark, but he wouldn't let it consume him. Instead, he took a deep breath. "Look. I'm not going to destroy your forest- or any forest! It's actually my job to protect the world, and that includes this forest. So you can rest assured, the avatar is here to protect the forest, not destroy it."

The masked people all became quiet after that. The suspense in the air was palpable as they all wondered the same thing... _he's the avatar?_

"So, the rumours are true. The avatar has come to save us all," the leader whispered in astonishment.

"Well- yes. I- I mean, I'll try. I mean-!" Alexander inhaled sharply as he cut himself off. Why was he so bad at being the avatar? He took another breath. “What I mean to say is, yes I'm the avatar and I'll do everything in my power to fulfill my avatar duties and restore balance to the world.”

Quiet again.

It was quiet for a long time before the leader spoke again. “Alright, young avatar, if what you say is true then you must release us. We have much to show you and much to discuss.”

Alex didn't like how that sounded. Let the people who had just tried to kidnap him go free? It didn't make too much sense to Alexander and he was still on edge after what had just happened. He looked over the masked people in thought. How could he trust them if he couldn't even see their faces?

"Unmask yourselves first," he ordered, trying his best to hide the fear in his voice.

"If this is to work you must trust us, avatar," the leader said in reply.

Alexander frowned and crossed his arms indignantly. "And how am I supposed to trust you if I don't even know what you look like?"

The leader was silent for a moment before turning to his follow fighters and nodding. Then, they all proceeded to take off their masks.

It was dark but Alexander could just make out their faces. He noticed first that they were all dark in complexion and hair colour, and they were pretty much all scowling at him. The leader had a giant scar running down the right side of his face from his forehead and straight through his eye. He also noticed that the archer was actually a young woman with a thick, dark braid and a chain with beads and feathers tied into it. The two boys with staffs were both younger and practically identical. The only difference Alexander could spot between them was the burn mark on the one boy's neck.

"Thank you. Now maybe some introductions?" Alexander was still not quick to trust these strangers. The leader looked slighted frustrated and annoyed, but did as Alexander asked.

"Of course. I am Mukwa, chief of the Mi'kmaq people. These are the twins, Nagamo and Niimi," he gestured to the two young boys, "And this here is my eldest daughter, Wenonah."

Wenonah looked up at Alex, her expression hard and apprehensive and her arms crossed, as if closing off herself from everyone around her. She turned to address her father but didn't take her eyes off of Alexander.

"Father, I do not think we should be trusting these people. They are not from here, they do not know of our people or our customs, I hardly believe they'll understand our problems. I think it’s best if they leave," she snarled the last part coldly while glaring at Alexander.

"Nonah,” one of the twins whispered while giving Alexander a cautious glance. “He's the avatar, you can't talk to him like that or he might destroy you!”

Alexander raised an eyebrow at him and he flinched and backed away.

"Look, I'm not here to destroy anyone," Alexander said, giving a pointed look at the boy, "I'm here to help, it's what I do. Now please, tell me of your problems and I'll help in any way I can. It's true that I don't know who you are or who your people are, but I'm sure I can learn if you only teach me."

The chief gave his daughter a look which seemed to anger her even more, but she just huffed and turned to glare at the ground dismissively.

Mukwa then turned to Alexander and smiled kindly. "It would be an honour to teach the avatar the ways of our people, and it would be a privilege to have you help us, we are in need of it. But we must hurry, so that we are not followed. The location of our village much remain undisclosed or else the fire soldiers may burn it down like before."

Alexander was taken aback by his last words. Like before? So the fire nation has been here before? And possibly burned down an entire village? These people really did seem in need of help. There was no time to lose.

"Alright gang,” Alexander turned to address his friends, who looked a little more than sceptical about the whole thing. “Let's pack up camp and move out. We've got a lot of things to learn.”

———

They made it to the Mi'kmaq village by sunrise. It wasn't too far, but they all had to travel by foot since it would be too easy for fire nation scouts to spot them from the sky. Ayla and Phillip had remained back at the place they camped with their supplies and a promise that they'd be back later in the day.

Along the way, Alexander learned that the Mi'kmaq people occupied a large region of land that was split into seven different districts, the one they were in was called Pigtogeoag and it was an island in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

"Do all your people speak English?" Alexander asked as they neared the village.

"Yes, most of us speak three languages at least. English, French, and Mi’kmaq," he explained.

"Hey, we have a friend who speaks French,” John cut in excitedly. “Except, he's not from here at all, and it might not be the same type of French.”

Mukwa raised a curious eyebrow and smiled humorously at John. “I sense this one has much energy and spirit.”

Peggy snorted. "You could say that again," she muttered sarcastically.

Mukwa turned to Alexander. "I have yet to learn all your names. Introduce me to your friends, young avatar.”

Alexander smiled and launched into it.

"Well, that's John. He's an earth bender. And that's Peggy, she's an air bender and she has a giant flying bison named Ayla. And that girl over there is Eliza, she's a water bender!" He explained as he pointed to each of his friends. He looked around for Angelica whom he had lost sight of and caught her at the back of the group, walking slightly behind a sulking Wenonah.

"And that's Angelica, she's like our leader. She's a crazy skilled fire bender and she's tough as nails," Alexander said, smiling at her. She looked up suddenly, as if just realizing Alexander had been talking about her, and smiled. She seemed to be a little dazed and lost in thought.

Suddenly, Wenonah turned to her and gave her a nasty look. Angelica's face fell and she flinched as Wenonah turned to her father. "I cannot believe you are allowing a fire bender into our village. She's a monster!"

"Maybe you should get to know me instead of judging me by your preconceptions of my people," Angelica replied coolly.

Wenonah's eyes blew wide as she filled with rage. She whipped around and glared at Angelica, hands in fists and teeth bared. “How dare you say that! Your people are the ones who burned down my village- burned down countless villages! I'd rather die than befriend an _ash maker!_ "

Angelica's breath caught and she jumped away from Wenonah. Alexander had never seen her so shocked, scared and appalled at the same time. Then again, he had never heard anyone use that slur before either, since he grew up on a dominantly fire nation island.

"Wenonah, calm yourself child! These are our allies, not our enemies. Apologize to Angelica at once!” Mukwa scolded her harshly.

She turned to her father with fury in her eyes. “No! I will never apologize to their kind!"

"You will do as I say, daughter," Mukwa ordered.

Wenonah breathed heavily as rage coursed through her veins. Alexander watched carefully as the tension grew between father and daughter. They were both quiet as Mukwa stared down at his daughter sternly. Eventually, she broke and looked down at the ground, surrendering.

"Sorry, father," she muttered shamefully to the ground.

"Now Angelica," her Father said sternly.

Wenonah’s face contorted in anger once more as she stared at the ground. It took her a second before she turned to face Angelica, locking her eyes into her own.

"My apologies," she snarled, not sounding very sorry at all. Angelica held her gaze and her ground and stared at Wenonah with an expressionless face.

"Apology accepted," she replied flatly.

Wenonah turned away and stomped off in the direction of the largest teepee in the small village. She pulled open the flap harshly and disappeared inside. Alexander studied Angelica closely as she watched Wenonah leave. She kept her face expressionless but Alexander could tell she was hiding much more intense emotions underneath the surface.

"I'm deeply sorry, Angelica. Wenonah can be very stubborn at times," Mukwa apologized, much more sincerely than his daughter did.

"Sounds exactly like Angelica to me," Peggy joked, trying to relieve the tension. It didn't work at all and Angelica still stared down Mukwa with the same expressionless face. He sighed deeply.

"You must try to understand, the fire nation burned down our home not too long ago. We are now forced to live here in these tents. Wenonah has been through much and she is still hurting, it may take her some time to come around," he explained softly.

"It's fine. I understand," Angelica said tonelessly.

Mukwa looked unsure, he knew Angelica wasn't really fine, but he decided to drop the subject anyway. He turned to Alexander.

"Avatar, this is our village. As you know, we have been targeted by the fire nation more than once now. They are trying to flush us out of our own land so that they can claim it for themselves and destroy our forests to build their factories to further themselves in the war. Our land is rich with minerals and oils that they need for their machinery. But this is our land and they cannot take it away!"

Mukwa started to fill with emotion by the end of his explanation. He took a breath to calm himself before continuing.

"So, we need your help. We need you to protect us and stop the fire nation from destroying our home and our land. Please Avatar, help us.”

Alexander stood motionless as he listened to Mukwa. These people were in desperate need of help and it broken his heart to hear all the horrible things they have already been through. As he looked around the camp, he saw the people, the mothers and fathers and children, all working around the camp or setting up tents or tending to the injured. They all looked so sad, like they'd given up hope.

A surge of anger flooded him suddenly. How could the fire nation do this to so many people? How could they just go around ruining so many lives without remorse? He had to help these people. He turned to Mukwa, determination in his eyes.

"I'll do whatever I can, Mukwa."

———

Prince James was in the helm with the captain of his ship, staring angrily at the sea. The avatar had slipped his grasp and he was furious. How was he supposed to capture him and return him to the Fire Lord now?

Suddenly, two soldiers entered the chamber.

"Sir. We have reports from our sources within Republic city. The avatar as been spotted with a group of children around his age," said the first soldier.

James raised an eyebrow. Republic city?

"Yes. And there have been sightings of him the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. We think he's currently hiding on the island of Pigtogeoag,” the second one reported.

James smiled wickedly. The island of Pigtogeoag? That wasn't a very smart move, little avatar.

"Set a course for the island. We'll burn it to the ground and smoke the avatar out," he snarled evilly.

"What about the island's native inhabitants? And our troops who are down there as well?" the first soldier asked with uncertainty. James turned and smiled at his captain wickedly.

"It would be their honour to die for the fire nation. And as for the savages? We'll call them casualties of war," he hissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I incorporated some Canadian First Nations history for y’all in this chapter.
> 
> Idk what the heck kind of universe this story is set in but it’s kind of the avatar universe mixed in with modern day universe? I’m not entirely sure but I wanted to incorporate some First Nations characters and when I came up with Wenonah I absolutely fell in love with her so I had to keep this in the story (she’s like the Suki of my avatar universe fic). 
> 
> Anyway, the Mi’kmaq First Nations Tribe is a real thing and all the information about them in this chapter and other chapters I have gathered from the interwebs. I chose them specifically because I feel like they’re one of the lesser known First Nations people and idk I just thought they’d be a perfect fit in my story.
> 
> Also, fun facts:  
> Wenonah means ‘oldest daughter’ in Mi'kmaq and  
> Mukwa means ‘bear’


	9. Forest Fires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Angelica is brave, strong, courageous, selfless AND a huge pining idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting this two whole days after the last chapter because I love it too much to hold onto it for another week. Also because of the person who commented on the last chapter. Y’all just make me so excited to update!
> 
> A little disclaimer: I! Love! Angelica!
> 
> In general? Yes, but also specifically in this chapter.

  
Alexander was quiet from the branch he was perched on. He held on tight as he slinked down the tree to get a closer look. From between the leaves he could just make out the red tents with the fire nation insignia. He heard voices but he couldn't see anyone. He waited for the signal.

Ever since Alexander had promised he'd help the Mi'kmaq people the previous day, he'd done three of these stealth missions to invade and take out the fire nation soldiers who had gathered here. It was actually Wenonah's plan, and it was working out great so far.

Alexander heard the first chime of the wind flute, the first stage in their plan. Wenonah played a soft, eerie song on the flute from high above in the trees. Alexander heard the fire nation soldiers chatter die down as they heard the song. He also heard their hushed, scared voices from below.

"Is that it? Is that the song?"

"Hush. It was just the wind."

"There it was again!"

"Oh man, that's definitely the song!"

"What are we gonna do?!"

"Quiet! There's no such thing as evil spirits! I'm sure those other soldiers just got a little creeped out by the woods and their imaginations started running wild. There is nothing in these woods but those useless savages.”

Suddenly, Alex's ears picked up the bird whistle that he knew to be the signal. He launched into action and dropped from the tree, just as the rest of the Mi'kmaq warriors did. The fire nation soldiers were in clear sight now and Alexander saw their surprised and- in some cases- terrified faces through his mask as they all dropped from the trees.

"IT'S THEM! IT'S THE EVIL SPIRITS! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Most of the soldiers screamed in terror as the masked and hooded people ran up and started to fight the soldiers who held their ground. Alexander ran and dodged blasts of fire expertly as he advanced on their campsite. He closed in one on soldier and dodged his attack, then he ducked behind him and kicked out his legs from underneath him. The soldier fell back with a yelp. Alexander stood over top of him and aimed for his face. The soldier looked terrified as he turned away.

Alexander then jumped off and ran back into the woods, leaving the soldier to scream and run away with the rest of his troops. Alexander would have loved to shoot a fire ball at the soldier, but the plan was to scare them off, not attack them. Plus, they didn't want the soldiers to know they were benders, therefore revealing they were humans and not ‘dark spirits’ who were there to protect the forest.

After a few more minutes, all the soldiers had fled their camp. They all cheered in victory and removed their masks, everyone sporting joyous expression. Mukwa walked up to his daughter and clapped her on the back, a huge smile on his face.

"Well done Wenonah! Your plan is working out splendidly," he congratulated her.

She beamed and smiled around at everyone. "Thank you all so much. If we keep this up for a few more days, I doubt the fire nation will ever dare to enter our land again!"

More cheers erupted as everyone started their usual raid of the camp to steal the supplies. Alexander walked over to Mukwa, removing his bamboo mask to speak with him.

"Mukwa, I'm glad we've made so much progress in the past two days, but unfortunately my friends and I have to leave. I need to get to the Northern Water Tribe and learn water bending, I hope you understand," he told the chief.

Mukwa smiled and nodded his head in understanding. "Of course, young avatar. You must learn the four elements, that is and always will be your destiny. I am just grateful that you were here to help us with ours.”

He patted Alexander on the back fondly and said, "And keep in mind that whenever you are in need of help, our people will always be there for you."

Alex beamed up at the chief, his heart swelling in gratitude. Who knew the people who attempted to kidnap him would end up being their friends and allies?

And it was nice to know they had allies, they would need everyone they could get to help them win this war.

 

———

 

Later that day, the gang was loading Ayla and preparing to leave. Mukwa and the Mi'kmaq people had given them plenty of food and supplies for their journey in gratitude for all that they'd done.

"This is... really, very unnecessary, sir," Angelica told Mukwa as she watched Peggy clumsily load a basket of corn onto Ayla. She raised an eyebrow as the young air bender struggled to get the heavy basket onto her pet bison.

"It is our pleasure and the least we can do, Angelica. We're happy to help however we can," Mukwa said with a smile.

Angelica shrugged and went over to help her younger sister. If Mukwa wanted to do this she had no reason to stop him.

“Father!”

Angelica jumped a little at the sound of Wenonah’s voice coming from behind her. It wasn’t as though she was _scared_ of Wenonah per se... it’s just... well she had a right to be wary... right?

Wenonah kept speaking to her father and Angelica pretended like she wasn’t listening.

"Father, Nishiime has run off again. I've looked everywhere- I can't find her! I'm worried..."

Angelica blinked in surprise. Every time she’d heard Wenonah speak her voice was angry and full of hatred. But this time she sounded really worried... even scared. It was a little off-putting and more than enough to get Angelica’s full attention as she turned around to face the Mi’kmaq chief and his daughter.

"I can help you look for her," she offered, her voice was kind but her expression was schooled as usual.

Wenonah looked up at her, scowling, but didn't say a word. Angelica's heart sank, but at least a scowl was better than the nasty words she had said earlier. Perhaps they were making progress.

Meanwhile, the chief's worried face lit with hope and he smiled at Angelica. "That would be much appreciated, thank you, Angelica.”

He turned to Wenonah and gave her a stern look. "You go look for your sister with Angelica," he said, “And be nice to her. She’s being kind by offering her help, you must return the favour.”

Wenonah looked over Angelica, her eyebrows drawn together and her lips pinched in a thin line. She looked as if she was contemplating her options and, although she didn't want to spend time alone with Angelica, she seemed more worried about her sister to care.

"Alright- but we must hurry," she said as she grabbed Angelica by the wrist and pulled her along at a run.

"Whoa- ok!"

Angelica’s heart jumped in her chest as she ran along with Wenonah into the forest. They ran for awhile at a very fast pace, going deeper and deeper into the forest. Angelica started to struggle to keep up with Wenonah, who was used to travelling on foot and running through the woods.

"Where- are- we going?" Angelica asked through gasps of air. She jumped over a tree root and ducked under a branch as Wenonah slowed down to a walk.

Wenonah crept along the forest ground, her eyes darting everywhere as she stayed alert and attuned to everything around her. Angelica followed, but just walked and kept low to the ground. She noticed how long Wenonah's hair was as her braid dragged along the ground as she moved around the thick trees and shrubbery.

Angelica observed her, moving around so freely and easily, as if she knew the whole forest by heart. Wenonah’s hair was dark like her own but her skin was a few shades lighter, and Angelica had noticed from the first time she had laid eyes on her that she was actually really beautiful. Her eyes were dark and wide with curiosity and freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. She was smaller than Angelica (by many inches) and her face was round and more childish, despite her actually being the same age.

"Wenonah?" Angelica asked after she didn't answer her question. They were nearing the beach now, Angelica could see the waves rolling onto the shore.

"What?" Wenonah snapped. She still seemed angry at Angelica and the harshness in her voice sent a pang through her heart.

"I- I was just wondering where we're going. Certainly your little sister couldn't have gone this far," Angelica replied, for once the dismissive voice instead of the authoritative one. For some reason, Wenonah made her feel all weird inside and she couldn't keep a level head when she was around her like she normally could.

"I know my sister, and trust me, this is where she comes when she runs off," Wenonah replied, less harshly this time. And then, she added, under her breath, “But I wouldn't expect you to understand the bond that families have.”

That was another jab to the heart.

Angelica winced because... _wow_. Did that ever hit home.

"I guess I wouldn't,” Angelica muttered, staring at the ground as she stopped walking.

Wenonah stopped and turned to face her, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, not in a kind voice but not in a harsh one either.

"I don't know what it's like to have a strong bond with my family," Angelica explained as she kept trekking through the bushes again, passing Wenonah. "I ran away from my home and my family a long time ago."

"Why?" Wenonah asked, not missing a beat. She was a very curious girl, Angelica realized, and she wasn't afraid to ask questions and be straight forward. Or perhaps it was just a lack of thinking before speaking.

"Because my parents sucked," Angelica replied bluntly. She’d never admit it, but that was her defensive mechanism. Just state the facts and tell it like it is, don’t get emotional and don’t get attached.

"My dad was a high ranking diplomat for the Fire Nation empire and my mom's a commander in the Fire Nation army.” She didn’t know why she was suddenly keen on telling Wenonah her life story, but... “They're both corrupt with the idea that fire is the superior element and that it should rule the world.”

Wenonah was listening to her every word, but Angelica wasn’t paying attention anymore. No, now she was angry, felt the loathing and hatred boil up inside her chest, and the long-repressed sadness and feelings of abandonment clutch at her heart.

“I wasn't brainwashed like them though,” Angelica continued, shaking and seeing red. “I saw right through all that _bullshit_ the Fire Lord spews.”

Angelica looked over at Wenonah at that moment, who had a startled look on her face. Angelica winced, coming back to reality a little. "Sorry," she muttered.

"It's ok..." Wenonah said softly as she inched closer to Angelica, who was now realizing she was standing with her feet in the sand on the beach. "So you ran away because you didn't want to be apart of that?" she asked, her eyes huge with curiosity.

"Yeah.” Angelica nodded.

There it was again... that nagging feeling telling her to spill all of her secrets to this girl she barely knows.

"And they were pretty bad parents too.” The only thing Angelica was aware of was the sand beneath her feet. “They were always gone, they never cared for me. I was basically raised by servants," she added, almost as an afterthought. But now that she thought about it, her heart actually began to hurt with the idea of it. Because, it was true.

Angelica stopped, her head spinning and her heart clenching.

“I guess they never really loved me," she whispered.

Wenonah slowly walked up beside her and lightly touched her hand. Angelica turned to see her gazing up with big eyes and a sympathetic expression. It was soft and kind and vulnerable, very unlike the Wenonah she'd known so far. Angelica started to feel something rise in her chest, something weird and not quite distinguishable. She turned away and kept walking, breaking the soft contact on her hand.

"Anyway.” Angelica shook herself out of it and cleared her throat. “I may not have parents but I do have sisters. Peggy and Eliza may not be related to me by blood, but they're my family and no one can take that away from me," she said fiercely. "I know them better than anyone." She turned to Wenonah, who was looking at her with her huge eyes. "Just like you know your sister."

Wenonah's face fell as she looked around the beach. "But she isn't here," she nearly whispered. She turned to Angelica, fear in her eyes. "What if we can't find her? What if she doesn't even want to be found?"

Angelica stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a small but reassuring smile on her lips. "We'll find her.”

Wenonah blinked and a tear fell from her eye. She nodded and wiped it away quickly, turning away from Angelica.

"We should look this way," she muttered as she walked off. Angelica followed her and tried to ignore how fast her heart was beating. Maybe it hadn't calmed down yet from all the running?

They walked along the beach for a bit, remaining silent all the while as they looked for Nishiime. Wenonah lead the way, climbing up the sharp, giant rocks which lined the shoreline, the ones the waves were crashing up against. She reached the top just as Angelica came up right behind her. She peered over the edge and gasped, suddenly ducking back down behind a rock.

"What is it?" Angelica asked, her concern growing as she saw the look of terror on Wenonah's face. She looked up at Angelica and whispered, "It's the fire nation! They're here!"

Angelica's eyebrows drew together in confusion and concern. She had to see this for herself. Slowly and cautiously, she peaked over the edge of the rock.

Wenonah was right. There, on the shore, was a giant empirical class fire navy ship. There were dozens of soldiers, all lined up and facing their general who was- _oh_ _no_.

Angelica ducked back down quickly, her heart racing in fear and panic.

"What? What happened?" Wenonah asked in a whisper, her voice tight and worried.

Angelica turned to her, unsure of what to say. She stared worriedly at Wenonah, the poor girl already looked terrified, how could she possibly break this news to her? She didn't want to, but she didn't have a choice. Her heart hurt as she opened her mouth.

"They have Nishiime."

Wenonah's eyes went wide and her face blanched in fear. Angelica could practically hear her heart stop beating. She looked around frantically and then stood up and went to look for herself.

And sure enough, there was her seven year old sister, being held by the wrist by the general. He seemed completely unfazed as she cried out and struggled to wrench herself free, twisting and tugging her tiny arm. Angelica could hear her screams from where they were.

"Nishiime!" Wenonah cried out, but her voice was hoarse with fear so there wasn't much volume to it. She went to step over the rocks and run to her sister but Angelica was faster and grabbed her arm, pulling her back behind the rock. She glared at Angelica in fury, her eyes bright with panic and fear.

"What are you doing! Let me go! My sister-!"

"If you go to her you'll be caught too. We have to think about this," Angelica told her.

Wenonah's face fell as she panicked even more. Her eyes wouldn’t focus and her breathing was quickly turning into hyperventilating. Angelica gripped her shoulder and pulled her close, locking her eyes.

"Listen to me,” Angelica told her. “You need to calm down. Your sister needs us now, we can't panic. Do you understand?"

Wenonah's eyes darted wildly for a second before she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok, good,” Angelica said, ignoring the rapid beating of panic in her own chest. “Now, you know the woods better than I do. I need you to run back to camp as fast as you can and get help, ok?"

Wenonah nodded and then glanced back over the rocks where she knew her sister was.

"What about-"

"I'll go try and get your sister back," Angelica cut in, drawing Wenonah’s attention back to her.

"Angelica..." she trailed off, staring at her with the most beautiful eyes Angelica had ever seen. Eyes that were wide with fear but also soft around the edges with... something else.

But time was short.

"Go!"

Wenonah nodded and took off into the woods, running faster than ever before, and leaving Angelica alone.

Angelica took a deep, steadying breath and peeked over the rock to assess the situation. The general, whom she recognized as Prince James, was giving orders to his men. One of them took Nishiime and started dragging her onto the boat. She put up a good fight, and for a small child it was quite impressive, but it wasn't enough.

"Ok, think Angelica,” she whispered to herself, clearly _not_ panicking. “How am I going to get Nishiime?"

She inched closer to the ship, careful to stay hidden behind the large rocks.

Now, she was just close enough to hear their voices.

"Sir, what are our orders?"

James looked around the island, a smirk on his face. Suddenly, he looked over to where Angelica was hiding. She held her breath, almost positive she couldn't be seen but still feeling like he was staring right at her.

He stared at her hiding place for a moment longer before turning back to his soldiers and speaking.

"Standby for now. I have a feeling the avatar will come for that little savage girl, and I want to see this play out," he said, his voice calm and nonchalant, as if this was just a fun afternoon activity. It made Angelica sick.

"Wait for my signal to start burning down the forest. If the avatar doesn't show up within the next few minutes, we're smoking him out," James added, his voice sharp and evil this time. Angelica gasped and put a hand over her mouth to silence herself immediately after.

They were going to burn the whole forest.

She had to act quick and she had to act smart. She made a mental list of the things she needed to do.

One: get Nishiime off that boat.

Two: warn Alex and the rest of the island.

Three: evacuate everyone before it's too late or stop Prince James and his soldiers.

Evacuating a whole island in less than ten minutes seemed pretty much impossible, so Angelica knew the only way was to stop James. But first, she needed to get Wenonah's little sister to safety.

She had a plan. She moved over to the water and looked down. It was a fairly steep jump and the waves didn't look very welcoming, but she didn't really have a choice. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and jumped.

She felt her stomach drop as she fell fifteen feet and then plunged into the freezing cold water. It nearly sent her into shock as she swam frantically back to the surface, gasping for air as she emerged. She treaded water until she found the ship and took another deep breath before going back under.

She kicked and swam as fast as she could, but unfortunately she was going against the tide. The water kept trying to push her away and against the rocks, but she kept fighting through it. It was so strong, she kicked with her legs and pulled with her arms but it felt like she was getting no where. She chocked and a few bubbles of air left her mouth. Her lungs were burning.

She shut her eyes tight and summoned every bit of strength she had before kicking with both her legs. Blasts of hot water shot her through the water and toward the ship. She emerged, coughing and chocking for air. She looked up the side of the giant ship. What now?

She caught her breath and grabbed for the anchor chain. She grunted as she pulled herself up and out of the water. Once out, she looked around to make sure no one could see her before she jumped up and shot another blast of fire out of her feet, propelling her up into the air and over the side of the ship.

She landed on the metal surface and immediately ducked behind some boxes as crew members went by. She held her breath in fear of being caught as they walked by.

"Oh. Where are they keeping her?"

"In the helm with the general. He said he doesn't want her leaving his sight."

They were gone just as Angelica couldn't hold her breath anymore. She let it out and gasped for new air as she did a few calculations in her head.

Nishiime in helm + general James keeping an eye on her at all times = bad news for her.

How was she supposed to save Nishiime?

Just as she was about to start panicking, a female soldier walked by, humming to herself. Angelica smirked as she jumped out of her hiding place.

 

———

 

Wenonah finally reached the village. Her heart was pounding a million beats per second but she had no time to lose. She ran to the avatar.

"Avatar! Avatar please- please you have to- help!" she said as she gasped for air.

Alexander ran up to her, his face immediately concerned. “What is it? Where's Angelica?"

"Back on the beach. Fire nation- here. They have my sister- Angelica risked her life to help her! Please- help!" she gasped, her eyes wide with fear.

Alexander did as he was asked and wasted no time. He jumped onto his dragon and ordered Wenonah to climb on to. She hesitated but then realized she didn't have a choice and hopped onto the scaly beast.

"Guys! We have to go!" he ordered to his friends. They all ran and climbed onto Ayla, and then they were off.

 

———

 

The door to the helm opened and in walked one of the female soldiers on his ship. Prince James frowned and crossed his arms disapprovingly.

"I thought I told everyone to wait below deck for my signal, soldier?" he barked.

Angelica stayed silent in her disguise as she walked towards James, careful not to give herself away. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure the General could hear it, but she stood her ground. No way was she letting this monster take Nishiime.

Then, James was grinning wickedly as she neared him. She didn’t have time to react as he reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her towards him.

"But of course,” he started, his voice low and sultry, “if you're here for some one-on-one time with your general then-"

Angelica had had enough and grabbed his arm, twisting it backwards and spinning him around.

"HEY!" he yelled in protest. “What’s going on? Let me go at once!”

“Is that really how you treat the female crew on your ship?” Angelica answered.

Angelica yanked on his arm, dislocating it. He yelled out in pain as Angelica kicked him to the ground. He went down and then she gave a swift kick to his head, effectively knocking him out.

"Well that was easy," she said as she took off her helmet. She looked around the helm, no one else was there besides Nishiime who was chained to a pipe in the corner. Angelica sighed with relief and ran over to her.

"Stay back! I know karate!" she yelled as Angelica started to untie her.

"Relax, Nishiime. I'm here to rescue you. Your sister Wenonah sent me, she's getting more help right now," she explained as she untied her. Nishiime pulled her hands back and rubbed her sore wrists, staring up at Angelica with a pout of contemplation.

"That's good, because I actually don't know karate, I just made that up," she said as she followed Angelica to the door.

They were almost out before-

"Ah!"

Angelica screamed as a hand clamped around her ankle, causing her to fall to the ground. She turned around just in time to see a blast of fire coming right towards her. Her eyes widened and she rolled out of the way just in time. She hoped back up and raised her arms, ready to fight.

"You might want to make sure your opponent is really knocked out next time," James growled as he held his (not dislocated) arm up. Angelica narrowed her eyes and calmed herself with a deep breath, preparing for a fight.

"Stay back, Nishiime," she warned.

James smirked as he stepped forward and shot a hot blast of fire out of his fist. Angelica dodged it and took a step forward, aiming her own fire blast. James dodged hers easily too and then the fight was really on.

Angelica let all of her lessons and teachings kick in as she dodged and aimed attack after attack. She ducked and jumped and even summersaulted out of the way.

Eventually, she realized that the prince was too good a match for her and she was getting no where. She just needed to grab Nishiime and get out. Suddenly, she saw her opening.

James kicked on leg up to shoot a fire blast but before he could, Angelica jumped forward and grabbed his foot, pushing him backwards and onto the ground. Then, she ran over, grabbed Nishiime and threw her over her shoulder, and darted for the glass at the front of the helm.

"What are you doing? The door is that way!" Nishiime screamed as Angelica shot a blast of fire at the glass, breaking it completely. She ran and jumped through the hole, falling down to the ground and landing with a thud on the metal ship's surface. Her knees hit the metal and she felt like she’d collapse any second, but the adrenaline was coursing and she managed to haul herself back to her feet in a split second.

She kept running, even as she heard James jump down after her. Her heart pounded in time with her thudding feet as she ran for the front of the boat, jumped into the air and shot more fire out of her feet, propelling her high into the air.

Nishiime shrieked as they both fell back down, landing in the sand. Angelica's knees gave out from the impact this time and she fell, rolling across the sand from the momentum she had. Nishiime had been thrown forward and she stopped rolling closer to the forest line than Angelica.

Angelica groaned in pain as she looked up, just in time to see James running towards her, steam already coming off his fingers. She jumped up and got into her stance but it was already too late. Her eyes widened at the sight of fire barreling towards her. She threw her arms up in front of her just in time as James' blast sent her flying backwards and into the sand. She grunted as she slid to a stop, her entire body lighting up in pain.

"Come here little savage girl, I won't hurt you," James cackled as he walked towards Nishiime. Angelica sprang back up and ran to him, hitting him with a blast of fire from behind that he just managed to dodge.

"Run!" Angelica yelled to Nishiime who didn't have to be told twice and ran off into the woods. Angelica watched with relief as she made it to the forest line when all of a sudden, the trees lit up in flames.

"Ahhhh!" Nishiime shrieked as she ran away from the flames now eating at all the trees around it and spreading quickly. Angelica's eyes went wide in horror. She turned to see James grinning wickedly at her.

"Sorry, but your noble efforts were all in vain," he said before turning to his soldiers who came running. “BURN DOWN THE FOREST!"

"NO!" Angelica cried.

She ran up to James and shot a blast of fire but it was way off. He smirked as he ran away back to his ship and let his soldiers swarm Angelica. She panted heavily as they circled her and Nishiime. She looked around frantically, but there was no way out. The fire roared behind them as it started to spread. Nishiime whimpered in fear and clung to Angelica's leg. She wrapped a protective arm around the little girl. She was scared, but there was no way she was letting anyone hurt this child.

"Give up. You have no where else to go," one of the soldiers ordered.

Angelica’s heart beat in her ears. She stood her ground but the hope she’d had was slowly starting to fade.

“Surrender yourselves or we attack!”

"NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"

Angelica nearly jumped out of her skin as she looked up to see Alexander yelling as Phillip swooped down in the middle of the circle of soldiers. The dragon hissed angrily and whipped his tail around, knocking all the soldiers out and sending them flying ten meters backwards.

Angelica had never been so happy to see him and Phillip than at that moment. Angelica caught sight of Wenonah who was also on top of Phillip and sliding off to run to her little sister. Nishiime ran towards her too and Wenonah scooped her up in her arms.

"Wenonah! Get on Phillip, he'll fly you and your sister to safety," Alexander said as he jumped off Phillip and started to fight off the Fire Nation soldiers that were still standing with Angelica. Wenonah did as she was told and Phillip took off with the both of them.

"Thanks,” Angelica called as she and Alexander fought side by side. “I don't think I could've done this alone.”

"No problem,” Alexander replied in a rush as he stopped a wall of fire from hitting the forest.

Alex looked back and saw how much of the forest was already being destroyed. He stopped for a second and let his arms fall as realization hit him. This was exactly what they were trying to prevent.

He could feel the heat of the flames from here. Could hear the roaring and crackling as the flames bit into the trees. It was utter destruction. Who would do such a thing?

That’s when it hit him that Prince James would do anything in order to capture him.

"Angelica!” Alexander called over to the young woman who was doing her best to stop the fire from spreading and fight of soldiers at the same time. “We have to leave!”

"What? Why!" she called back.

"Because they'll follow us if we leave and then they'll leave the forest alone," he explained as he came up to her side.

She paused, glanced back to the forest with worry, and then turned to Alexander and nodded her agreement. "You're right," she said, "Let's go."

Just then, Phillip came swooping back down, Wenonah on his back with a bow and arrow in her hand. She jumped off and started firing arrows like nobody’s business, taking down fire nation soldiers left and right.

"Angelica! Let's go! The others are already on Ayla," Alexander called as he ran towards his dragon.

Wenonah turned to face Angelica with wide-eyed confusion.

“You're _leaving_?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"We have to!” Angelica explained desperately as she took down another soldier, her breath ragged. “If we leave they'll follow us and leave you alone."

Wenonah fired an arrow and then moved to stand back to back with Angelica as more soldiers made their way over.

"But- but I never apologized," Wenonah protested.

Angelica took the chance and glanced over her shoulder. "Apologized for what?"

Wenonah threw caution to the wind for a moment and turned to face Angelica, forgetting about the fire and the soldiers and the battle. All she wanted to focus on was Angelica’s amber eyes.

"For treating you so badly,” she replied, her voice soft and utterly sincere. “I judged you before I even met you and that was wrong, I'm sorry.”

Wenonah’s eyes danced across Angelica’s features, her eyes- eyelashes- cheekbones- nose- lips- back up to her eyes where their gazes met and locked and time seemed to slow down.

Angelica smiled softly, unable to contain the fluttering in her chest as she grabbed Wenonah’s hand.

“It's ok," she replied, voice uncharacteristically sweet.

Wenonah wasn't convinced.

"But I was so awful to you! And you saved my sister, and-"

Angelica cupped Wenonah’s cheek in her hand softly and inched her face closer, effectively shutting Wenonah up.

"It's ok.” Angelica’s eyes were sparkling. “I forgive you.”

Wenonah I hailed sharply, like she was going to protest some more, but it died on her lips as she stared up at Angelica. They were close, she realized, _so close_. Wenonah’s eyes fell down to Angelica’s lips and then she was pushing up on her toes. Her eyes fell shut as her lips brushed Angelica’s.

Angelica's eyes were wide as saucers as Wenonah's lips pressed against her own for a split second. Her heart skipped a beat as Wenonah pulled away and stood back on her feet. She blinked at the beautiful Mi'kmaq girl, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"For saving my sister," she said as ways of an explanation, a light blush painted across her cheeks.

Angelica blinked again and then a wide smile lit up her face. For a moment, she forgot all about the on going battle and chaos around her. All she could see was Wenonah's beautiful face smiling up at her.

"ANGELICA WE NEED TO GO!" Alexander yelled as he swooped over on Phillip's back.

Angelica blinked out of her daze and shook her head clear. She looked over at him and realized he was right, the Fire Nation soldiers wouldn't stop until they were gone. She turned back to Wenonah, her heart aching.

"I have to go," she said as she took Wenonah’s hands into her own.

"Will you be back?" Wenonah asked softly.

Angelica smiled brighter than the sun.

"Of course I'll come back," she replied.

"ANGELICA!" Alexander yelled urgently.

"Right!"

She looked at Wenonah one last time, softly touched her face and then let her hand drop as she turned and ran towards Alexander.

She hopped onto Phillip's back and he took off into the air. She looked back down over his side to see Wenonah and her people fighting off the fleeing troops. James was on his ship, yelling at his men to follow the avatar. The others were farther ahead on Ayla. She watched with great sorrow as the forest crackled and burned. At least it was only the bit by the beach, but if it spread more...

"Alexander, what about the fire?" she asked as she turned to look at him. “Alexander?”

He didn’t respond. He was only staring down at the fire.

Angelica craned her neck to see his face-

Her breath fled her lungs.

Alexander was glaring down below him, his face pinched in outrage.

But, what really made Angelica’s heart clench in fear...

His eyes...

They were... _glowing_... glowing _white_.

Suddenly, his head snapped towards her and Angelica flinched backwards, nearly knocking herself off of Phillip in her panic.

For a split second, she almost thought he was going to start attacking her, but then he turned his head forward again and jumped right off of Phillip without at word.

"ALEX!"

Angelica’s heart stopped in cold fear as she watched him fall. He plunged into the water, disappearing from sight with a splash.

Angelica's heart started to race in panic.

What had just happened?! Where did he go?!

But her questions evaporated as Alexander shot up from the ocean again, a huge funnel of spinning water lifting him up.

And... wait... was _he_  the one making the water do that? She thought he couldn't bend water yet!

Alexander raised his arms and the water followed his command. It gently rose up from the ocean, millions of droplets soaring up into the air. Then, he pushed his arms forward and down and the water shot that way, raining down on the burning forest heavily. Soon enough, the fire was out completely.

Just then, a cannon ball- fired from James’ ship- splashed into the water, just missing Alexander.

He turned his furious, glowing-eyed expression towards the boat, and swung his right arm in an upwards motion and then across in a sideways slicing motion. The water followed suit, rising and then turning into a sharp edge which flew across and sliced right through part of James' ship.

The loud, screeching sound of metal sliding across metal echoed across the bay and the top of James’ ship splashed into the water. Smoke rose and immediately started billowing up in large puffs as the boat groaned and slowed to a stop in the water.

Meanwhile, Angelica watched as the white light slowly faded and Alexander’s eyes returned to their usual brown. His eyes then shut as his face and body went slack. The water beneath him stopped spinning and crashed back down to the ocean.

Alexander hung in mid-air for a millisecond before dropping towards the water.

A surge of panic shot through Angelica as she watched Alexander’s limp body fall.

Phillip took off after him, surging forward and diving downwards to where Alexander was quickly nearing the water.

They swooped underneath his falling body and she reached up, grabbed his torso, and pulled him down onto Phillip and into safety.

Phillip’s wings went wide as he tried to slow down before he crashed into the water. He swerved and twisted his body, flapping his wings violently as he just managed to avoid plunging into the water.

He flew back up quickly and caught up with Ayla and the others, a smoking fire nation ship trailing slowly behind them.

Angelica held Alexander in her arms and looked down at him. His eyes were closed and he wasn't responding. Her heart beat quickly with fear and panic. She didn't know what to do.

Just then, Alex groaned and opened his eyes. He stirred and turned in her arms to look up at her face. He cracked a small smile and she nearly laughed with joy and relief.

"Hey, Angelica...” His voice was weak and raspy. “What happened?"

He sat up a little and clutched his head, wincing.

"I don't know,” Angelica admitted, her voice breathy. “One minute we were flying away and the next you were jumping off of Phillip and doing some crazy water bending to stop the fires.”

Alexander seemed to light up in understanding but she was still confused.

"Were my eyes glowing?" he asked.

"Yeah, they were," she replied.

"I must have gone into the avatar state," he concluded. A light went off in Angelica's brain.

"The avatar state, I've heard of that!" she exclaimed. But then she drew her eyebrows together in confusion again. "But, don't you have to be a fully realized avatar to control that amount of power?"

"Well, I _can't_ control it, not yet. It just sort of... happens," he said with a shrug. "I don't know when I'm going to go into it and I can't even remember going into it in the first place. It's almost like I blackout.”

Alexander paused, staring off into the horizon for awhile as he thought. Then:  
“I think certain things trigger it. I went into it once when I was drowning, so I think it's like a survival instinct. But I wasn't in danger this time, I was just really angry and upset, so maybe I also trigger it when I'm really emotional? I'm not sure..."

"Well, I guess we'll deal with that when the time comes,” Angelica said, coaxing him out of his thoughts. “For now, we have to get you to the Northern Water Tribe. We're about three days away."

Alexander smiled at her warmly. “Thanks for being there for me.”

"No problem. Thanks for being there for me," she replied with a smile. Alexander nodded and they both sat in silence for a minute. Then, he turned around and gave her a sly look.

"Sooo, Wenonah huh?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows jokingly.

Angelica scowled and rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly. “Shut up.”

"Hey, I'm not judging! She _is_ really pretty," he said with a smile as he put his hands up in defence.

Angelica just smirked and shoved him again. “You're the one who's drooling over my sister, so.”

"Eliza and I are just friends!"

"I never specified which sister.”

Alexander turned red and turned away from her. She laughed manically.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!"

———

"Sir, we have to stop and make repairs,” one of the engineers informed Prince James, “the ship is in critical condition!"

James growled in frustration as he rubbed his sore shoulder. The medic on board set it back in place but it was still throbbing. He made a mental note to get his revenge on that young fire bender.

"Fine!" he snapped angrily. "Make a stop in the next city and make your repairs. But as soon as they're done, we're setting a course for the avatar!"

He walked angrily over to the door and swung it open.

"But sir, we don't know where he's going," the engineer called, just as the door was about to shut.

"Yes,” James snarled over his shoulder, “we do.”

The slam of the door echoed throughout the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice how much longer this chapter is? Yeah... they’re about to get much longer and much more exciting.
> 
> I’m so frigging excited!!!!


	10. The Prince Of the Northern Water Tribe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm I wonder who the prince of the water tribe is????

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiiiii
> 
> I don’t really have much to say except thank you for all your comments and kudos, it means the world to me you have no idea:) <3
> 
> Also, sorry this is a little later than usually I was on vacation with my family
> 
> (Vacation, all I every wanted! Vacation, had to get away!)

Three long days of flying later and the gang was nearing the North Pole. The air grew chilly as they flew over icebergs and freezing water. Eliza handed out coats and capes and blankets, anything they had to keep themselves warm. Everyone except Peggy was shivering by the fourth day.

"P-Peggy,” John asked, his teeth chattering, “how are you n-not wearing a b-blanket?"

He himself was wrapped in his sleeping bag and had a towel wrapped around his head to keep his ears warm. His cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold air whipping around them.

"Air benders can warm themselves up, dumb dumb," she drawled, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Don't you know anything Johnny?"

"Don't c-call me that!"

"Alright, settle down.” Angelica’s voice was stern but in a tired sort of way. “Everyone's just a little cranky because it's so cold and we still haven't found the Water Tribe, but arguing won't help.”

Their bickering drew to a close, but their spirits were hardly lifted. Surprisingly, Angelica was only wearing a dark red cape to keep her warm, and she didn't look cold at all. Alexander on the other hand had a red cape and his sleeping bag wrapped around him as he huddled in a ball on Ayla's back.

Angelica was flying Phillip to give him a break, and he was very grateful. Sitting on his dragon for a week had given him very bad back pains and an even worse charley horse. He loved Phillip dearly, but his muscles sure did need a break.

Alexander stared over the side of Ayla's saddle and groaned in frustration. All he could see for miles in every direction was water and ice. Growing up on a tropical island left him unprepared and unadapted for cold weather. He shivered as he threw his head back and let out another groan.

"When are we gonna get there? All I can see is water and ice- I hate it!" he complained as he slouched down and crossed his arms. Eliza giggled and scootched closer to him.

"You just need someone to help keep you warm," she said as she pressed against him. He leaned into her because she was warm but kept the bitter look on his face.

"What I _need_ ,” Alexander continued to whine, “is to find the North Pole!"

"Hey, maybe that guy can help," Peggy said suddenly from where she was seated on Ayla's head. Alexander raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What guy? There's no one else out here," he said as he ditched his sleeping bag and crawled up to the front of Ayla to join Peggy.

"Well than _he_  must be a ghost," she drawled sarcastically as she pointed at something on the horizon.

Alexander followed her finger, squinting. He really didn’t think anyone else was out here. Peggy was probably just pulling a prank on him-

But- there! In the near distance, Alexander could see a huge wave rolling through the water. But this was no ordinary wave. It was moving back and forth and right and left and up and down and- everywhere! And there, riding on a board made of ice, was a water bender who was bending the wave and surfing as he went. It was amazing!

"Oh my gosh, a water bender! Look at him- that's so cool! I have to get a closer look," Alexander gushed with excitement as he stood up on Ayla's saddle. "Phillip!"

Phillip came darting over immediately, tipping to the side and letting Angelica fall lightly onto Ayla's saddle as Alexander hopped on and flew off.

"Hey!" Angelica called in complaint, but Alexander couldn't even hear her, the rushing off wind in his ears and the excited beating of his heart was too loud as Phillip darted for the water bender.

Alexander could see him more clearly as they neared him. He was moving his arms gracefully, pushing and pulling the water to create the wave and moving expertly on his ice board. He jumped off the board and swirled the water around so that it became a funnel that propelled him into the air. He rose high with the water and then he pushed his arms down and the water that was supporting him fell.

A look of pure joy spread across his face as he hung in the air for a moment before falling back down to the water. And just when Alexander was beginning to panic for his safety, he raised his right arm and a stream of water rose up, caught him, and he plunged into the water gracefully.

He popped back out almost as quickly as he fell and rose again on another swirling funnel of water. Alexander was amazed to say the least.

Alexander bent at the waist and urged Phillip to get closer. Phillip flapped his wings and then swooped downwards, pulling up right behind the water bender.

Alexander crawled forward a little and cupped his hand to his mouth. “Hi there!”

The water bender jumped and whipped his head around to see Alexander and his massive dragon almost right beside him. The poor boy's face lit up in shock and fear. He froze up and consequently stopped bending. The funnel of water fell and so did he.

"AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh!"

**_Splash!_ **

Alexander winced as he watched the water foam and bubble where the boy had fallen in. Ok, so that wasn't his smartest move, he'll admit that.

He pulled Phillip down to the water where the water bender had popped back up, gasping for air. He looked up at Phillip and Alexander, a wild look of fear on his face.

"Stay away!" he warned as he raised his hands close to his chest.

"It's ok! I'm not gonna-" Alexander started to say before the water bender shoved his arms forward and propelled himself backwards at an amazing speed, spraying Alexander with the wave he created.

Alex shook himself dry, an unimpressed look on his face. He sighed and pulled Phillip to go over to where the water bender had ended up.

He had crawled onto a large block of ice and was gasping for breath. He turned around and crawled backwards in fear as Phillip landed on the iceberg. He panted and his eyes were wide as he backed up against the wall of the iceberg and stood up, leaning against it for support. The poor boy looked terrified.

"S-stay back!" he warned again, his arms raised in defence. Alex slid off of Phillip and calmly put his hands up so the boy could see he wasn't going to attack.

"It's ok, I'm not here to attack you," he explained as he took another step forward. The boy flinched and pressed his back further into the ice behind him. Alright, so Alexander should maybe just stand still then.

Suddenly, Ayla roared as she too landed on the iceberg, startling the water bending boy even more as he let out a yelp of surprise.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked, his voice far less shaky this time. His hands balled into fists and he bent his knees, taking a stance and preparing to attack if necessary.

"Calm down, we're not going to hurt you,” Alexander explained, rather apathetically. “We're looking for the Northern Water Tribe, that's all.”

Alexander took another step forward and this time the boy didn't back away. His breathing calmed and he lowered his arms slowly and skeptically.

"Who are you?" he asked again, his shoulders relaxing, his sharp blue eyes fixed on Alexander. He wore a scowl of skepticism and his body language showed he was still untrusting.

That’s when Alexander actually took a minute to take the stranger in. He was wearing thick, dark blue pants and a long-sleeved shirt of the same colour, a light blue, thigh length robe tied around his waist over it. His clothes were similar to Eliza’s, and his boots were brown and looked as though they were made of some type of animal skin. He also wore white gloves and a white belt to keep his robe tied around his waist.

His skin was brown and his hair was dark and long and a mass of curls, fluffing out in every direction. His jaw was strong and his face was handsome and young, probably around sixteen. He was tall too, and fairly nicely built. These were just a few things Alexander noticed as his eyes went up and down, scanning the stranger.

"I'm Alexander," he replied, nearly forgetting about the question. "And I'm the avatar."

The boy's eyes went wide for a second, pausing to look over Alexander in awe. Then, as if coming to his senses, he shook his head and narrowed his eye again. He continued to scowl as he said, "but you're still Fire Nation, so how can I trust you?"

Eliza suddenly jumped off of Ayla and walked over slowly. "I'm not Fire Nation. I'm a water bender, too. From the South Pole.”

She popped open her canteen and bended a stream of water out to show him, then she slid it back in and closed the bottle. The boy watched and Alexander could see him visibly relax after learning there was another water bender there.

"And I'm an air bender! From the Northern Air Temple,” Peggy announced cheerily as she jumped up very high into the air and floated back down gracefully, the air filling her little orange cape around her shoulders as she descended. She landed softly and flipped around her staff so it turned into a glider with orange wings. “See?" she asked, a bright smile on her face.

The boy nodded slowly, his face blank with confusion. He looked a little overwhelmed as he tried to process what was going on, but he also looked like he was calming down.

"And I'm an earth bender!" John called from Ayla's back merrily. Then his expression fell as he said, "buuuuut there's not exactly much earth out here for me to bend, so I guess I can't show off like the rest of you.”

"That's alright..." the boy said slowly, skeptically, his eyebrows drawn in. His eyes darted back to Alexander.

"Are you really the avatar?" he asked, his voice full of doubt and unease.

Alexander nodded. "I came here because I need to learn water bending from a master. I need to master all the elements so I can defeat the Fire Lord and stop the war.”

The boy stared back at him blankly, doing nothing but blinking slowly at the mass information that was thrown at him.

“Right...”

Then, he dropped his arms and deflated, his shoulders collapsing inwards as his arms hung down in front of him. He closed his eyes and sighed, muttering something to himself that Alex couldn't make out. Then, he stood up normally again and raised his head nobly.

"Ok, that's a lot to take in,” he said while pinching the bridge of his nose. “Especially from a group of strangers who just happened to be flying by on a- what is that? A _dragon_? Flying by on a freaking dragon.”

He closed his eyes and started muttering to himself again, and Alexander started to wonder if this boy was actually going to have a break down.

“So,” he started up again, letting his hand fall back down to his side. “If you want an escort to the Water Tribe, you’ll need to give me a reason to trust you first.”

Alexander got lost in thought for a second, wondering what he could possibly do to get this stranger to trust the guy who scared him half to death and made him fall twenty feet before splashing into freezing cold water-

_Oh!_

Alexander’s face lit up brightly as the idea hit him. He stood straight and opened his arms wide towards the boy. “Take your shot.”

"What?" the boy asked, his nose scrunched in confusion.

"Well, it was my fault you fell into the water earlier, so I'm letting you take a free shot to even the score,” Alex explained. “Plus, if I let you hit me then you really have no reason not to trust me. I’m basically surrendering myself to you.”

The boy raised an eyebrow and stared at Alex with a weird look.

“Are you... crazy?” He asked it like he was genuinely concerned for Alexander’s well-being.

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. “Look, if you're-"

Alexander didn't get to finish his sentence. There was suddenly something piercingly cold and surprisingly hard hitting him directly in the stomach and knocking the air out of him. He went flying backwards, his feet scraping along the ice before he was falling backwards. He hit the water hard, pain erupting on his back before it was numbed completely by the freezing cold that surrounded him. Alexander’s heart kickstarted in panic and adrenaline. He kicked violently with his legs and swam quickly to the top. He broke through the surface, gasping for air, his eyes bulging in panic.

He treaded water as he caught his breath, his heart still pounding madly against his ribcage. He shuddered as he swam back to the iceberg, feeling exactly like a cat thrown into the water.

He was aware of the laughter above him and glared at his friends as he climbed back onto the ice.

Then, his gaze settled on the boy- who was _smirking_ like a smug idiot. The anger that was bubbling in Alexander’s veins slowly started to edge away the numbness the ice water had caused as he glared down the boy with a look that could kill.

“That’s not fair,” Alexander seethed, still on his hands and knees, “I wasn’t ready.”

The boy shrugged and then crossed his arms, casually shifting his weight to one side. “You said I got a free shot so I took it.”

Alexander frowned unhappily and opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it again when he realized he had nothing to say. His friends kept laughing and that smirk on the water tribe boy's face was making him even more aggravated.

"Whatever!" he snapped climbed to his feet. The water was still dripping off of him so he went to wring out his cape.

"Here, Alexander, let me," Eliza said as she stepped over and hovered her hands over Alexander. She pulled the water out of his clothing and bended it back into the sea, rendering him completely dry again.

"Thanks," Alex said flatly as the rest continued to giggle and laugh at him. He shot them all glares and then walked back over to Phillip. "Come on guys, we need to go," he said as he raised a leg to hop onto Phillip, but before he could, the boy spoke.

"Actually, you better leave your dragon here," he said, still posing casually with his hands on his hips now. Alexander frowned and lowered his leg, crossing his arms.

"Why?" he demanded the smug boy, whom he was beginning to like less and less.

"A dragon is a pretty clear indication of the Fire Nation and if my people see it they'll most likely attack immediately," he explained. He looked over to Ayla and added, "The bison should be fine, though. As long as it swims behind me instead of flying."

"Well, where am I supposed to go?" Alexander asked, as if the boy was the stupidest person alive.

He started walking and waved him off casually over his shoulder, simply replying with, "I have a canoe."

Alexander followed him around the iceberg to where there was a water tribe canoe resting on the side. The boy pushed it into the water and hopped in gracefully, while Alexander looked at it skeptically.

"Come on, we don't have all day," the boy drawled. Alexander frowned at him and hopped in, if for nothing but to prove to this guy that he could in fact get inside a canoe, _thank you very much._

He sat down on the seat and looked around for his paddle. But there wasn't one.

"Where are the paddles?" he asked as the boy stood up in the small boat.

He turned to look over his shoulder and smirked. "You don't need paddles when you're a water bender.”

And then they took off.

Alexander had to grab hold of the side of the canoe as the boy drove it forward by pushing back the water around them. He looked back and saw Ayla try to fly after them. Peggy had to coax her into going in the water but eventually she roared begrudgingly and belly flopped into the water, swimming after the canoe. Alexander was mildly surprised that a beast that size could float and swim.

When they caught up to the canoe the boy sat crossed legged and continued to water bend to move it forward. Alexander relaxed and looked around at the surroundings. The icebergs were getting bigger and he could see where land was supposed to be, but instead it was white with snow and ice. There were large, snowy mountain peaks in the distance above the light fog that surrounded them. It was actually kind of beautiful, but a very different kind of beautiful.

Alexander turned to look at the boy again. All he could see was his back and his wild, curly hair. Alexander frowned and then pursed his lips, debating in his head what to say. Everyone was quiet so he felt the need to fill the silence, but how? He was feeling curious, as always, and decided to just start asking questions.

"So, do you live around here?" he asked the boy.

"Nooo, I just like to come up here for the beautiful weather and many fun activities to do," the boy drawled, his words thick with sarcasm and sass. Alexander felt the heat rise to his face as frustration and annoyance bubbled in him. But instead of exploding, he just tried asking another question.

"How long have you been water bending?"

The boy shrugged and replied with, "My whole life I guess. I started really young."

"Oh. So you must be pretty good then?" Alexander asked. The boy's shoulders tensed for a second.

"I guess," he replied vaguely.

Alexander frowned unhappily. This guy wasn't very easy to get to know and he didn't like that. He tried again.

"What's your name?"

"I think that's enough questions for now," the boy snapped. Alexander's frown deepened and he crossed his arms angrily.

"Well, how am I supposed to trust you if I don't know who you are?" Alexander snapped back.

"Not my problem," he said. "Besides, you kinda don't have a choice but to trust me if you want to get to the Water Tribe."

Alexander knew he had a point, but he didn't admit to it. Instead, he crossed his arms and pouted, staring at the water. They sat in the canoe in silence and Alexander could faintly hear his friends talking on Ayla's back. He sulked, wishing he was with them instead of with this stupid, arrogant, water bender.

After a couple more hours of dodging the icy landscape and sitting in the canoe in awkward silence, Alexander could see they were nearing land. His heart leaped with joy and relief. Finally, he could find an actual master to teach him, but more importantly he could _finally_ get off this horrible canoe.

They pulled up to the land and up close Alexander could see that it was a giant wall made of ice and not a mountain or a cliff. This wasn't something made by nature, this was something made by water benders! And it must have taken a lot of them and a lot of time to make something that big and impressive. To the left, he could see the wall went along the side of the ocean, but to the right it curved inwards and he couldn't see the rest of it. He wondered where it went.

Suddenly, the canoe hit shore and Alexander lurched forward from the sudden impact. He fell off his seat and landed on his hands and knees on the bottom of the boat, while the boy ahead of him jumped out gracefully onto land. He turned to see Alexander had fallen and covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. Alex grew with rage and stood up quickly in the canoe.

"That was your fault! I only fell because you-"

Alexander stopped when the boy held out his hand for him.

"Whatever you say. Just get out of my canoe," he said, a little tauntingly. Alex frowned and ignored his hand, stepping out on his own. He landed on the icy ground and glared up at the boy who was several inches taller than him.

"I can get out myself," Alex said haughtily, crossing his arms. The water tribe boy smiled in bemusement and chuckled, placing his hand on Alexander's shoulder.

“Glad to hear it," he said as he brushed past Alex and walked over to his canoe. Alex stood with his mouth hanging open in half disgust and half disbelief as the boy started to drag his canoe onto shore.

"D- did you just-"

Alex didn't get to finish whatever he was trying to say.

"Are we here? Is this the Water Tribe?" Eliza asked as she stared around in amazement from Ayla's saddle. Ayla stayed floating in the water near shore, looking perfectly content and happy to be swimming in the ice cold water. Alexander shivered just thinking back to when he fell in- or rather, was _pushed in_ by a certain water bender, who was speaking to Eliza now.

"It's behind the wall, yes, but you'll have to get in by yourselves," he said as he shoved a bunch of snow over the canoe, completely burying it. Alexander wondered why he did that, but then his mind switched over to what the boy had actually said.

"What? You mean you're not taking us inside?" he asked incredulously, anger bubbling inside of him. The stranger looked up at the wall and then around him nervously before turning back to Alex and shaking his head.

"No, I can't," he said, his voice worried and urgent sounding.

But Alexander hardly noticed that. All he could focus on was the fact that this guy wasn't following through with their deal. His anger and frustration finally got the best of him and he snapped, yelling at the boy.

"You mean to tell me that you took us all this way- made me _leave_ Phillip alone on a block of ice and _pushed_  me into the freezing cold water, just so you could drop us off _near_  the Water Tribe and not actually take us _inside_?!"

The boy's face looked panicked as he looked up at the wall and around himself again, worriedly.

“Shh!" he shushed Alexander, "Calm down!"

Alex felt his blood boil. Like hell he was going to do what this stupid, condescending boy told him to.

"No! I wanna know why you can't take us inside! And why you hid your canoe- and why you won't even tell us your name! Are you even part of the tribe? Are you even allowed inside- are you some sort of criminal or something?!"

The water tribe boy grew more and more panicked, doing everything he could to quiet Alexander.

"No! No, I- I'm not a criminal, just- ugh- just be quiet! Please," he said, gripping Alex by the shoulders and forcing him to be quiet.

Alexander shut his mouth but didn't stop glaring up at him with an angry look. The boy sighed and let go, rubbing his temple exasperatedly.

"Look, I'm sorry I can't take you inside," he said, addressing everyone. "But I can give you directions. Just keep following the wall along the water that way and eventually you'll come to the gate,” he explained, pointing to the right. "It's not that far. Just make sure when you get there to tell them who you are, otherwise they might fire on you.”

Suddenly, there was a noise from on top of the wall. The boy looked up worriedly and then started to back away from the group.

He looked back at Alexander and his friends and said, "Ok, I have to go. You'll be fine." He looked at Alexander and nodded. "Good luck," he said before he turned to the wall, bended a hole in it, and disappeared, closing it behind him.

Alexander gaped at the wall in disbelief. He wanted to be angry, he desperately wanted to be angry with that boy for stranding them out here by themselves, but all he could muster was complete and utter shock.

“Wha... where did he... why...”

He couldn’t even form a coherent sentence for spirit’s sake.

Suddenly, Eliza was at his side, tugging on his arm and saying, “Come on, Alex. Let’s go. Let’s go find the Water Tribe.”

Alexander continued to blink in disbelief as Eliza lead him away and back on to Ayla’s saddle.

"Um, alright. Yip yip, Ayla.... umm, I guess?" Peggy muttered uncertainly. Ayla huffed and started swimming in the direction the water bender had told them to go.

After a few minutes Alex seemed to get his wits back. He pouted as they swam along, staring at the water. How dare that stupid boy leave them alone and helpless like this. They had a deal! He got pushed into freezing cold water for nothing. He silently hoped that the rest of the Water Tribe wasn't as rude and stuck-up as that boy was.

"Alexander?" Eliza asked suddenly, her concerned voice drawing him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her and did his best to smile.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok? You look... distracted," she asked, obviously not buying his fake smile. Alex sighed and deflated, throwing his head back dramatically.

"I'm just on edge, I guess. I've never been this far from home before, everything's different here. And that stupid boy didn't help very much," he muttered that last part angrily under his breath. Eliza smiled kindly and put a gentle, calming hand on his shoulder.

"Don't let him get to you. Besides, I'm sure we're never going to see him again."

"We better not," he muttered, scowling at the water.

"Hey, if you're done complaining, I think we're here," Peggy announced from on top of Ayla's head. Alexander and Eliza looked up to see the most amazing sight either of them had ever seen.

As Ayla rounded the bend, they could see the giant gate the water tribe boy had spoken of. It was huge and made of ice, as was the rest of the wall, and it had a giant water tribe insignia carved into it. There were large towers on top of the gate and Alexander could just make out water tribe soldiers guarding each post. They were very different from the fire nation soldiers. Instead of masks, they wore black, white and grey face paint and instead of armour they wore heavy coats and various animal skins.

"Whoa," he whispered in awe as they neared the giant gate that protected the magnificent city within.

A couple of wooden boats floated out from behind the wall, on board them were water benders. They sailed up to Ayla and encircled her, blocking them from moving forward. A woman on one of the boats stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice.

"Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe,” she said, “Please state who you are and what business you have here.”

Alexander figured that was his cue, and stood up on top of Ayla’s saddle.

“My name’s Alexander,” he started, “and I came here to learn water bending.”

The woman frowned, eyeing Alexander carefully. “You hardly look like a water bender.”

Alexander resisted the urge to smirk. “I’m the avatar, ma’am.”

The woman’s jaw dropped and she blanched, obviously horrified at her mistake. The other few people on the boat turned to each other and started whispering, glancing back at Alex in awe.

“Right,” the woman said, shaking herself out of it. "Of course. Follow us, please," she smiled as the boats took off toward the gate.

Ayla followed while the gang of kids stared around in wonder and awe as the water benders opened the gate. It was absolutely incredible, the way they did this. The icy gate lowered while the water rose up and up so that Ayla and the boats could just float through. Then, the water benders rose the gate and lowered the water level again, closing off the city to the outside world once more.

"This is amazing," Eliza said breathlessly as she looked up at the city. Alexander followed her gaze and looked around. The buildings were all made of ice and snow but the architecture was so beautiful it looked like they had all been carefully hand crafted out of glass. There were canals instead of streets, and beautiful, large ice bridges looming over them in places, connecting both sides of the street so that people could walk from one side to the other.

Not only was the architecture magnificent, but the city was also huge and the buildings were tall, almost the size of those in Republic City. The whole gang couldn't stop staring around in joy and amazement as they followed the boats, floating down the canal.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked curiously to one of the men on the boats. At first, the man looked shocked, like he had just seen a ghost, but then he coughed and shook himself out of it.

"The Royal Palace, your- uhhh, avatarness," he chocked out, his face flushing red. Alexander raised an eyebrow but didn't question the man's odd behaviour... out loud at least. Instead, he chose to focus on what the man had actually said.

"The Royal Palace? There's a Royal Palace? I didn't even know there was a king and queen of the Water Tribe," he exclaimed incredulously.

"Well, we don't technically call him our king, per se, but he is the chief of the Water Tribe," the same man explained, much more composed now.

Alexander’s eyes went wide. He loved learning new things. He listened intently while the man explained. “He is Chief Nicholas, and he is the third one in his family to hold this title, his father and grandfather preceded him."

"Oh, cool! So it's a hierarchy then, not a democracy?" Alexander asked eagerly. The man just stared at him like he was crazy. Alex sighed and figured he needed to explain. "Like, the future leaders are born into the line of ruling instead of the people voting in the leader of their choice.”

"Oh! Oh, yes, the chiefs are always the sons of the previous Chief," the man clarified. Alexander took notice of how he said 'sons' and not 'children' but didn't mention it out loud. Instead, he kept asking questions.

"So, is there an heir to the thrown then?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, Chief Nicholas and his wife, Jane, have a son, Prince Thomas. He is next in line to be Chief.”

"Whoa, a prince! That's so cool!"

"I hope he's better than Prince James," Eliza suddenly muttered under her breath, just loud enough for her friends to hear.

Alex turned to her, the desire to learn more bright in his chest and avidly shown on his face. “So is it like this in the South Pole, too? Do they also have Chiefs and Princes and Palaces?”

Eliza's face fell instantly.

She turned away and hugged her knees close to her chest. Alexander felt a pang of guilt as he watched her face scrunch up in a mixture of anger and great sadness. What had he done to upset her?

Angelica scootched over to her sister and wrapped a protective, yet comforting arm around her. She shushed her sister when a couple tears spilled from her eyes. Alexander felt like he was going to be sick with guilt.

"Eliza...?" he asked timidly. She turned to him, an angry look on her face as she wiped her tears.

"It's fine Alexander, you obviously don't know," she spat.

Alex felt like her words had hit him right in the chest, knocking all the wind out of him and leaving his insides to twist and burn in pain. He could tell she immediately regretted her tone as her face softened and she deflated, sighing.

"I'm sorry,” she said softly, avoiding eye contact. “It just sucks.”

"What su-"

"Welcome, avatar and friends, to the Water Tribe Palace!”

Alexander’s attention was immediately pulled away from Eliza as he looked out in front of him.

His jaw dropped to the floor.

A palace it was indeed.

Alexander didn't think it was even possible for a structure that big and magnificent to be completely made out of ice and snow. There was a rectangular wall around it, with towers at each corner, and a large building in the middle with a dome shaped roof, rising to a large, pointed pillar at the top. The Water Tribe insignia decorated the front gates just like it did on the much larger front gates to the Water Tribe city.

"This is amazing," Alexander said breathlessly as they were all lead up the icy stairs to the Palace. The gates opened and they walked through and into the Palace. Alexander marvelled at the intricate designs on the windows and ceiling, making it look like they had been craved out of glass. Dark shades of blue and purple decorated the big open room, whether it was in the carpet, on the couches or chairs, in the paintings or in the curtains.

They were lead through another door and into another room, and Alexander immediately recognized it as a throne room. It was big and open, with pillars that rose to the ceiling and steps that lead to a platform where a very stoic man and woman sat next to each other on cushions on the floor. Ok, so there weren't actually technical _thrones_ , but it was still a throne room in Alexander's opinion. There was even a small waterfall running behind the Chief and his wife, falling into a large pool! If this wasn't a Royal Throne Room, Alexander didn't know what was.

Their escorts lead them up to the Chief and his wife before bowing and exiting the room, leaving them alone.

Alex studied the Chief first. He was tall and strongly built with dark skin and even darker eyes. He wore his dark brown hair in thick dreadlocks that fell just past his shoulders. He also had a thick beard and wore fancy robes in dark, royal, and navy blues, with some purple here and there. Alexander's first thought was: intimidating, but respectful.

His wife was a much kinder person to look at. She was fairly tall as well, with a plump face and rounded curves that could be seen even through her robes and coat. She wore the same colours as her husband, but her hair was much more curly and wild, half of it was pulled back into a bun behind her head. Her head was adorned with pretty blue clips and her face was painted with a thin layer of makeup, enough to look presentable but not overly dramatic. She looked nice, kind, motherly, and oddly familiar. Alex couldn't quite place it but there was something strangely familiar about her face, and especially her blue eyes which shone like sapphires.

Suddenly, the Chief spoke and snapped Alex out of his thoughts.

"Avatar Alexander, what an honour it is to be in your presence," the Chief said, his voice booming and low. He smiled, and Alexander noticed how the skin around his eyes crinkled when he did. Perhaps this man was a lot kinder than he first appeared to be.

The Chief then stood and bowed low to the ground, his wife doing the same thing. A rush of heat flew to Alexander’s face as he blushed in embarrassment, laughing uneasily.

"Please, there's no need for that," Alex said with a sheepish smile as he urged them to stand back up.

"Of course,” Jane said, her voice deep but kind. “We want you to feel just as comfortable and happy in our city as you would in your own. After all-"

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud bang and the slamming of a door. Alex turned in bewilderment to see someone rushing over to the platform.

"Apologies, it's just my son, who is rudely _late_ if I might add," Chief Nicholas scolded as the boy rushed up the steps.

"Sorry, father," the boy muttered hurriedly.

Alexander's ears twitched. He knew that voice. Where did he hear that voice before?

The Chief's son- the prince- turned around to face them at last, and Alexander's eyes went wide.

No. _Way_.

 

———

 

If Thomas had woken up that morning knowing that he was going to meet the avatar later in the day, he would've stayed indoors. He would've obeyed his parents and stayed inside the walls, inside the Palace, where it was safe and comfortable. He wouldn't have gone out to practice his water bending, and he _certainly_ wouldn't have helped the avatar find the Northern Water Tribe.

But, since he can't tell the future, he didn't know any of this. And so, when he woke up that morning, he opted to do what he normally does when he's feeling upset, sneak out of the Palace and go splash around in the water.

Well, at least that's how his father would put it. To him, it wasn't a sacred form of fighting, or something that made Thomas unique and special. It was a nuisance and a dangerous activity, something that Thomas should only do if he needed to.

But what his father didn't understand was that it was something he _always_ needed to do. He was always itching to get out on the water and go surfing, creating his own waves, his own surfboard of ice. He longed to bend the water, making it do as he instructed. He loved the movements, the gracefulness and beauty of them. He loved the calmness of the water, the push and pull, the rise and fall, the steadiness and the wildness. He loved it all.

So, whenever he can, he sneaks out on his canoe and finds a secluded area to just bend the water and have fun. And he loves every second of it.

But today, it hadn't been so secluded.

When he had first seen a boy on a dragon flying beside him, he had been so startled that he had fallen off balance and into the water. He had been so scared at first. He could practically hear the voices of his parents in his head.  _This is why you need to stay inside the walls. There could be fire benders out there. They could hurt you._

And now there was a fire bender, and Thomas had been scared out of his mind. But once he knew that he was actually the avatar, and that he wasn't going to hurt him, he relaxed. He had decided it wouldn't hurt to show him where the Water Tribe was. He needed a master, Thomas understood.

But Thomas also understood that he couldn't bring them all the way to the gates, because he would be discovered and then the guards would tell his parents and then he really wouldn't ever be able to leave the Palace ever again. And that just couldn't happen.

So, he left them to find the gates on their own, and crawled back through the wall. He had brought them close enough, they'd be fine. They'd find the gates, be welcomed in, find a master and leave. And that would be the end of it.

Now, Thomas was sneaking back into the Palace, into his room and into safety. He let out a breath of relief once he closed his door. He hadn't been caught. He slouched against his door and closed his eyes, breathing steadily to calm the racing of his heart.

_**Knock knock knock.** _

Thomas nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a knock at his door. He swallowed in a breath of air and shakily asked, "Yes?"

"Prince Thomas? Your father is requesting your presence. He said formal attire must be worn," came a servants voice.

Thomas deflated in relief and answered, "Ok, thank you. I'll be there in a minute."

He heard the servant's footsteps as he walked away and then sprung into action. He pulled off his casual light blue robe and dark blue shirt and ripped off his snow pants. He pulled on his purple and blue robe and navy blue leggings as fast as he could. He ran to his mirror and tied the blue bands into two strands of his curly hair, one on either side, and then did his best to brush through his hair.

He glanced at his reflection. Not bad for a matter of minutes, he supposed. Although, he should really put on some make up; if his mother saw him without it she'd know something was up. He glanced at the various bottles on the vanity. His servants normally did this for him, he wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but he figured he'd seen them do it enough times to do a decent job and started applying it quickly. He took the liquid stuff that matched his complexion and rubbed into under his eyes and on his nose. He took the powder and quickly dabbed it on. He glanced at what he knew to be eye shadow and mascara warily. He didn't have the time or the skills to put that on, so he left it and ran to the door, slipped on his shoes and ran out.

It was a hasty job, he knew, but if he was a second later his father would probably have his head. He ran to the throne room and swung open the door, wincing as it slammed loudly. He barely even noticed the other people in the room as he ran up the stairs and stood in front of his father, who wore an unimpressed expression.

"Sorry, father," he apologized after finally registering that his father had reprimanded him for being late. His brain then also realized that there were other people in the room. He turned around to look at them.

His eyes fell on Alexander first, and his heart nearly stopped. He felt his eyes go wide and his mouth fall open in shock.

No. _Way_.

This wasn't going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> F I NA L L Y Thomas has arrived!
> 
> And he’s full of sarcasm and ready to sass his way to victory.


	11. Princely Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Thomas because I love Thomas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I meant to post this last night but I fell asleep in the middle of editing it- oops!
> 
> Also, thank you all soooo much for the lovely comments! They always make me so happy:) 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Alexander stood in the throne room in shock, gaping at the boy.

It was the boy they had met before. The same boy who had lead them to the Water Tribe. The same boy who had pushed him into the water. The same boy who had been so rude and sassy and arrogant and awful!

He looked different now though. He wore fancy, flowing robes like his parents and his hair looked slightly more tame. There were two thick blue bands tied in his hair, hanging on either side of his head and framing his face. His face was also better taken care of, it looked clean and soft and pretty, like his mother's.

"Hey! It's you," Alex blabbed dumbly, pointing at him aimlessly. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it! Of _course_ this guy was the frigging _Prince of the water tribe_.

The boy's face changed in an instant, going from shock to confusion. He raised an eyebrow and pouted in doubt as both his parents turned to him questioningly.

"I'm sorry, have you two already been acquainted?" Jane asked as she looked between Alexander and the Prince. The boy narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"No. I've never seen them before in my life.”

Alexander felt his blood boil and his eye twitch in annoyance and frustration. Didn't know them? Never seen them before in his life?! Oh hell no.

"What are you talking about? Of course we already met!" Alex yelled, anger bubbling inside him. The boy just kept feigning innocence and playing dumb, only now he was starting to get angry too, Alexander could tell by the way his eyes narrowed and his mouth scowled.

"Sorry, but I think you're mistaken.” He spoke in a way in which only Alex could hear the snarled threat in his voice.

"No, I'm not! I saw you water bending outside of the Water Tribe, _remember_? You showed us the way to the gate for spirits sake!”

The Prince flinched and winced, ducking his head down like he’d just been caught doing something bad.

Then, the Chief and his wife both snapped their heads towards their son, equal looks of shock and anger on both their faces. Alexander felt the shift in the atmosphere of the room.

"You were outside the walls?"

"Doing _what_?"

"No!” The Prince was quick to defend himself, his face frantic and desperate. “No, I wasn't- these people are crazy!"

His parents didn't seem to believe him one bit.

"Explain yourself,” the Chief demanded. “ _Now_!"

Alexander decided right then and there that Chief Nicholas was in fact intimidating. Very much so.

The Prince turned away and stared at the ground. His expression was hard to read, but Alex could tell he was shaking. Alex didn't even know what was going on anymore, he just watched the scene play out in front of him.

"Okay,” he admitted to the ground. “I was practicing my water bending outside of the walls.”

Alexander was confused. Why did the Prince make that out to seem like he was admitting to a crime?

The Prince then looked up at his parents, his expression desperate again. "But I was being safe and-"

"No! I don't want to hear anymore," Jane snapped as she held up a hand, stopping her son from continuing. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Finally, he just snapped it shut and turned away, scowling.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Avatar Alexander," Jane said kindly. Alexander nodded, but his eyes were still curiously analyzing the Prince. He slowly removed his eyes from the Prince and onto his mother.

"It's alright. And just call me Alexander please.” He felt a small pang of guilt and added, "and your son was only helping us. If it wasn't for him, we never would have found the Water Tribe."

Jane frowned and side glanced her son. "Yes, well I'm glad he helped, but he still knows the rules and regulations. As well as the punishments that come with breaking them.”

Alexander didn't know what to do. This was obviously a family matter and none of his business, yet he couldn't get rid of the feeling that it was somehow his fault. And he couldn't help but feel pity as he looked at the Prince, who looked small and defeated now. He went to speak but Angelica beat him to it.

"Alright, so can we get back on track, then?" she asked, slight annoyance apparent in her tone. “We came here to find Alexander a teacher. He needs to learn water bending in order to defeat the fire nation and end the war. It's of the utmost importance. Do you think you could find a master who is willing to teach him?"

Nicholas and Jane shared a look, seeming to have a telepathic conversation. Chief Nicholas turned back to his guests and nodded once before speaking.

"The Northern Water Tribe is full of very skilled and capable water benders. I'm sure we could find one who is willing to teach you," he said, addressing Alexander. He turned to his son, who was still staring angrily at the ground.

"Thomas," his father addressed him, causing the boy’s head to snap up and his posture to straighten immediately.

"Yes, father?" he asked politely without missing a beat.

"Why don't you give Alexander and his friends a tour around the city? You can take him to meet master Rufa, or master Paul.” He turned to Alexander again. "They're two of the best teachers in the whole North Pole."

Thomas made a weird face at his father's words. He looked annoyed and still pretty upset. He glared at Alexander as he answered his father. "Of course. I'd be honoured to give the avatar and his friends a tour.”

If Chief Nicholas picked up the sass in his son’s tone, he didn’t show it.

"Alright, it's settled then. You kids go have fun! And Thomas," his mother said, turning to address him, "stay inside the walls."

Her son winced a little and nodded obediently.

He walked down the stairs slowly and gracefully, his head held high as he walked past Alexander. His face flushed as the Prince side glanced him as he walked by.

"Come on,” he sighed dramatically as he gestured with his hand for the gang to follow him. "We don't have all day."

Alex felt his insides twist in rage and he stomped after Thomas, following him out of the throne room and into the main hallway again. His friends were behind him but he barely paid no mind to them as he started speaking his mind.

"Look. I don't know what your problem is, but I've had it with your attitude! So if you want me to spend the rest of the day with you then you better start being more respectful," he snapped angrily.

Thomas stopped in front of the door and turned to Alexander, a strained smile on his face.

"Well, guess what, _oh great avatar_? I don't want to spend the rest of the day with you either," Thomas said quietly, venom oozing from his nasty tone. "But unfortunately, we're stuck with each other until I find you a master. So, I say we just try to ignore each other until that moment _finally_ arrives."

Alexander glared up at him. He hated this guy, hated him with his whole being. But he had a point, they were stuck with each other, and he figured that ignoring him would take less energy than fighting with him, so he nodded once in agreement.

"Fine." he snapped. Thomas scowled.

"Good." he snapped back.

"Great!" Alex said, a little too loudly and a little too angrily.

Thomas' nostrils flared but he must have decided to ignore it and turned on his heal, opening the door. He stormed off while Alex stood in place with his arms crossed, fuming. He turned to look at his friends who were all giving him surprised and concerned looks.

"What?" he snapped, knowing full well 'what', and then marched after Thomas who had gotten into a large canoe.

Alex and his friends all piled in one by one and then Thomas started to move the big boat with his water bending.

Alexander tried to focus on the beautiful scenery and not the hot pit of anger inside him. It had been a good half hour, and he’d almost managed to completely forget about it, when the canoe stopped suddenly. He looked up to see that Thomas had stopped in front of a building that looked much like a school, except it was made of ice. He hoped out and gestured to the gang to follow him.

Inside was just one giant room, equipped with three large pools, heaps of snow, and pillars of ice. If Alex had to describe what he thought a water bending school looked like, this would be it. It was strangely empty though; he'd thought there would be students practicing at this time of day.

"Where is everyone?" Eliza asked, beating Alexander to his own question. He looked at Thomas who was looking around the school himself, confusion apparent on his face.

"I'm... not sure," he muttered, walking into the middle of the room. Alexander unwillingly let out a snort and Thomas whirled around to glare at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, putting his hands up in defence, "but wouldn't it have been more helpful if you brought us here when there was actually someone _here_ to teach me?"

Thomas' face went a little red as he crossed his arms. "Well, they should be here. But forgive me if I don't know where every single one of my citizens are at all times!"

Alexander scoffed incredulously. “Your _citizens?_ ”

Thomas just rolled his eyes. “Yes, my citizens. I _am_ the Prince, you insolent-"

Thomas was interrupted by the opening and closing of a door. All the heads in the room turned as a man in blue clothes lined with warm animal fur entered the room.

He was older, with dark, wrinkled skin and greying hair. He looked at the gang with as much surprised as they looked at him.

"What's going on? Who are-"

His eyes fell on Thomas.

He suddenly gasped and scrambled to bow down low to the ground, causing Thomas to turn an odd shade of pink. Alexander quirked an eyebrow at this curious reaction. He'd have guessed that Thomas was used to things like this, and even expected them.

"Prince Thomas, what an honour. May I ask why you have come here?" the man asked as he rose back to his normal height. Thomas shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Hello, master Paul,” Thomas started, his voice sounding drastically different from the snarky tone it usually took. He gestured to Alex. “This is the avatar, Alexander. He's come seeking a master,"

Master Paul went pale as a ghost as he trained his eyes on Alexander.

"The avatar?” The old man’s voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at Alex like he was some sort of god. “Oh my- what an honour it is to meet you! I've heard so many great things...”

The man continued to ramble uncontrollably and Alexander felt annoyance heat up inside him. Maybe it was because he was still riled up from Prince Mcnasty™, but he already couldn't stand this guy. And how was he supposed to learn from someone he couldn't even tolerate?

"Sorry, master Paul, but we have to leave. I need to find a _real_ master to teach me," Alexander said flippantly as he started for the door. Poor Master Paul sputtered bewilderedly as he watched Alex push past him and walk out the door.

His friends all exchanged equally dumbfounded looks, while Thomas stepped forward, putting a hand on master Paul's shoulder.

"Sorry about that," he said on Alex's behave. He turned to his still shocked friends. "I'll go after him," he said, taking off after Alex before any of them could argue.

Thomas ran outside and looked around. The canoe was still there, but Alexander wasn't inside it. Just then, he spotted the small, fiery boy as he marched angrily around the corner of the building. Thomas hopped down the stairs of the front door and ran after him, rounding the corner Alexander had just disappeared behind.

He caught up to him, panting slightly as he grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him. Alex growled and turned around, pushing the hand off of him.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

Thomas took a breath, willing himself to not lose his temper, and spoke as calmly as he could. “You know, you could've at least given him a chance. I know he doesn't seem very skilled or brave, but he's actually a fine teacher, and-"

"No.” Alexander cut him off. “I'm sorry, he probably is a perfectly good teacher, but he wasn't for me. If I'm to master water bending I need the right teacher, I need the _best_ teacher.”

His words didn't bite like they had before, but they were still insistent and serious. Thomas stared at the icy ground for a moment, a carefully contained look on his face.

"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible," he spoke at last, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

Alexander frowned, not completely buying it and he was starting to lose his patience again. “What's not possible?"

Thomas looked up at him with a dark look in his eyes. “Well, you can't have the best teacher. He's..." Thomas faltered, his gaze drifting back to the ground. He gulped. "... he's not around anymore."

Alexander raised an eyebrow and snorted. "What? Is he retired? Well that's just great," he spat sarcastically.

Thomas felt hot rage burst through his body. He clenched his fists and glared at Alexander, teeth bared.

"He's not retired!" he snapped, his anger getting the best of him.

"Then why can't he teach me!?" Alexander yelled, equally as angry.

Thomas didn't answer, he just glared at Alex, his body shaking and quivering with rage.

"Huh?" Alex spat, asking again, "why can't he teach me!"

Thomas wouldn't answer, he looked at the ground, looking almost as though he was in pain.

But Alexander didn't notice.

"Answer me!"

“BECAUSE HE’S DEAD!”

Thomas snapped. He looked up at Alexander with anger, pain, and sadness all mixed together in his blue eyes.

His voice echoed and bounced off of the walls of the ice buildings, reverberating around the small canal. It seemed to silence the whole city, although there was really no one else around to overhear them.

Alexander blinked in shock and recoiled away from Thomas’ outburst. He’d hadn’t been expecting that...

While Alexander was recovering from the sudden info-bomb, Thomas was still fuming.

"You know what,” the young Prince snarled. “If you want to shoot down and disrespect all of the perfectly good teachers in my tribe, then be my guest! You can go find your own master- or better yet- _teach yourself_! I don't care, but I'm done helping you. Goodbye.”

Thomas shoved past Alex, hitting his shoulder with much more force than necessary. Alexander turned around and watched in shock as Thomas jumped right into the water of the canal and water bended a small wave which he rode on to get through the streets, turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

Alexander stood there in silence. He stood there for a while. He stood there and tried to wrap his head around what just happened. What had he done?

Eventually, he heard a voice.

"Man, you really messed that one up, Alex."

John's voice came from behind him. Alexander turned to see all of his friends looking at him with concerned but also disappointed faces.

He deflated as he realized exactly what he’d done.

Why did he always have to make such a mess of things?

 

———

 

Thomas was in his room doing something he didn't often allow himself to do... sulking.

He laid on his four poster bed, staring at the wall of his room. His back was towards the door so that if anyone did come in without knocking, they wouldn't catch the tears slipping from his eyes onto his pillow.

He closed his eyes and immediately saw the image of Alexander's face, shocked and scared as he yelled:

" _BECAUSE HE'S DEAD_!"

The words rang through his head, and he winced at the sharp pang that stabbed his heart. More tears gathered and fell as he thought of his old master.

Master Yakov, one of the greatest men Thomas had ever met and the best teacher he'd ever known. He was such a role model, such a person to look up to, but he was also more than that. He was a friend, he was almost a second father. But now he was gone.

Thomas thought back to the day of his death, but the memory was far too painful to relive, causing Thomas to open his eyes and gasp for air. He wasn't ready to face that yet, even if it had been almost a year ago. He swallowed and tugged at the ends of his gloves nervously, an old habit by now.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door. Thomas felt his heart grow heavy. He didn't feel like facing anyone yet, he wanted to stay in his room, in the dark, hidden from the world.

"Thomas?" came a voice. "May I come in?"

Thomas sat up immediately. Luckily, it was the one person in the world who he wanted to see right then. He smiled wide and answered, "Yeah, come in."

How did James always know when he needed him?

The door opened and in walked James Madison, twenty year old grand secretary to the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. But more importantly, Thomas' best friend in the whole wide world. Thomas smiled sadly.

"I thought you'd be in here," James said, a small frown on his small lips. Everything about James was small, his lips, his hands, his height. Thomas towered over him, despite being four years younger.

Thomas sighed as James took a seat at the foot of his bed. His friend gave him a sympathetic look, but one that also said, ‘you'd better start spilling your guts, right now’. Thomas took a breath and surrendered, something that he did a lot around James.

"Look, I'm sure you've heard about my little... outburst," he said hesitantly, not off to a very good start. "But I was just really upset, ok?"

He glanced up to see James' calm face, his listening face. It reminded him that his friend cared, his friend was here for him, he could tell him anything.

Another breath and it spilled out. “I just hate this frigging avatar guy! He's so awful, James! He insulted master Paul, and he insulted me, and worst of all-" Thomas cut himself off to suck in a breath of air after finally spitting out his feelings. He hugged himself and stared at his blue bedspread. "He made me think about Yakov."

Thomas tightened his grip around himself, digging his nails into his side. He scrunched his eyes closed and felt new, hot tears stinging his eyes. Spirits, he felt pathetic. But being around James just opened something inside him, it always did. So, he kept going.

"I- I just can't believe he's gone. And I know it's been a year but- but I just-" Thomas let out a short breath that sounded a lot like a sob. The tightness in his chest wouldn't stop getting tighter, and it was starting to feel impossible to breath. "I miss him so much- And I need him now more than ever- But I can't go to him because he's dead- _anditwasallmyfault_ -"

"Thomas!" James snapped, drawing Thomas out of his whirl pool of dark thoughts. He looked up at his best friend with fear in his eyes and tears streaking down his face. James looked at him with a stern, serious expression.

"It was _not_  your fault," he said firmly, angrily almost. Thomas just felt himself break more inside at these words.

"Yes it was," he protested.

"No. It. Wasn't."

"But I was there!" Thomas gasped for air. "I could've saved him!"

James took Thomas' gloved hands in his and held them tight, locking Thomas' eyes in his own.

"No. There was nothing you could've done, you know that, Thomas."

He struggled against James' firm grip, trying to wiggle himself free. James wouldn't allow it. He finally gave up and stared sadly into his best friend's eyes.

"Then why do I still feel so awful?" he asked softly, his voice cracking. James' eyes were sad too, even if his expression was hard and serious.

"Because you feel immense pain and grief and suffering. And that's ok. It's ok to feel sad when someone close to you passes."

Thomas started to feel the tightness in his chest lift as his friend smiled at him.

"But."

Oh no. There it was. The 'but'.

"It's not ok to yell at our guest and run away, leaving him and his friends alone in a place they're unfamiliar with," James scolded softly. " _Especially_ when that guest is the avatar."

Thomas sighed exaggeratedly and breathed a laugh. He used the back of his gloved hand to wipe his tears away. "I know, I know," he said sheepishly, "That was a really dumb thing for me to do.”

They shared a moment of contented silence, Thomas feeling much better now that his friend was with him. But then James frowned and an unsettled feeling started to creep its way back into Thomas.

"Actually, speaking of the avatar..." James trailed off.

Thomas groaned internally. “No."

"He's here."

"No."

"He wants to talk to you."

"Nooooo!" Thomas groaned externally this time as he flopped down onto his back, hands in his hair as he stared up at the ceiling in dread. James chuckled heartily as he stood up off the bed.

"Come on, Mr Prince. You have an avatar to converse with," James joked as he pulled Thomas up by the hand.

"Can't you just pretend to be me and talk to him for me?" Thomas whined as he was pulled out of his room and into the hallways.

"Thomas, we look nothing alike," James stated bluntly.

"So? He wouldn't notice. He probably wouldn't know the difference between an arctic hen and a sea chicken," Thomas grumbled unhappily. James just laughed at his comment.

They arrived at the throne room and James practically had to push Thomas inside before leaving to attend to his own duties as grand secretary. Thomas walked in, gathering all his strength and will power before facing both his father and avatar stupid face.

He arrived at the steps leading up to his father’s throne and bent down on his knees, bowing so low his nose touched the floor. He rose again after a moment and stared calmly at his father, waiting for the worst of it.

"Son," Nicholas said in acknowledgement. His voice was deep and Thomas identified it as his ‘very disappointed in you’ voice. “I’m very disgraced and disappointed in you.”

Aaaaaaaand there it was.

“How could you act so rudely and impulsively, leaving our honoured guests _stranded_ in the middle of a city they don’t know.”

“They weren’t stranded,” Thomas muttered under his breath. “I left them the canoe.”

“Thomas,” Nicholas scolded. “Enough. I don’t want to hear it.”

Thomas flinched and bowed his head. “Sorry, father.”

“Perhaps you should save you apologies for the avatar, since you apparently exploded and yelled at him.”

Thomas flinched again, wincing.

Just then, Thomas heard a door open behind him. He turned around to see the avatar’s back as he carefully closed the door he just entered through. Alexander then turned around and his gaze fell on Thomas. The Prince froze instantly, embarrassment and shame flooding him.

"Hi, Thomas," Alexander started as he came up to him, stopping a couple feet away. Thomas shifted and crossed his arms, staring at the ground awkwardly. He heard Alexander sigh heavily and peaked at him through the curls that had fallen in front of his face.

"Look, I'm so-" he sighed again, "I'm really sorry for what happened earlier today, outside the school."

Thomas' eyebrows shot up to his hair line. What was that now? Alexander was actually... apologizing?

"I- I didn't know about your master, Yakov. I didn't realize that he had passed away and that he had been very close to you. After our fight I came here to talk to Chief Nicholas, and he explained to me that you were devastated by it. And I... well I just had no idea. So, I'm deeply sorry for bursting and yelling at you, it wasn't fair and it wasn't right. I hope you can forgive me."

Thomas was absolutely blown away. He looked straight at Alexander, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Alexander looked upset, guilty even, staring at the ground and playing with the edge of his red cape nervously. It just didn't make any sense. How could this be the same irritating, hot headed, angry boy from three hours earlier? It just didn't add up!

Thomas was too shocked to even say anything at first. He just stared dumbly at Alexander, blinking repeatedly to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Finally, he managed to clear his throat.

"Well, thanks... for saying that," he started out awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced at his father, who was looking at him expectantly, and then back down at Alexander again.

"And, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have let my temper get out of control and I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I definitely shouldn't have left you and your friends alone in the street, that wasn't very nice of me.”

Thomas’ apology was awkward but also sincere as he stared into Alexander's big brown eyes the whole time.

Alex smiled and shrugged. “It's alright. Wouldn't be the first time you left us to fend for ourselves.”

Was that... a joke?

Thomas smirked playfully.

"Yeah, guess I can only handle you in small doses," he teased.

"Even then you still lose it and end up sailing away on your own little wave," Alexander replied with a grin. Thomas scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes at that.

Just then, Nicholas coughed and cleared his throat, earning himself both boys' attention. He smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad you two have cleared things up. The last thing I want is the avatar thinking he's not welcome in my tribe. Now, how about we get back to the matter of finding you a teacher?"

Alexander nodded and stepped forward. "I'd be honoured to except master Paul as my teacher. He seems very capable and-"

"No." Thomas interrupted, not really entirely sure why. Alexander and Nicholas turned to him, both wearing looks of shock and confusion.

"What?" Alexander asked.

"No. You can't have master Paul as your teacher. He wouldn't be the right fit," Thomas continued, not really sure where he was going with this, but knowing deep down that he was right. "You need someone who's more than just capable. You need someone who's not only going to teach you water bending, but help you grow as a person and as the avatar. Someone to help you reach your full potential. You need the best of the best."

"But... the best of the best? Master Yakov /was/ the best. No one will ever measure up to him,” Nicholas said.

Thomas and Alexander stared at the ground, both in deep thought. Deep down, Thomas knew his father was right, that there wasn't a single water bender in the whole tribe who could ever compare to his old master. It made the empty feeling in his heart grow achingly.

"Well maybe..." Alexander muttered suddenly, drawing in Thomas' and Nicholas' attention.

"What?" Thomas asked curiously.

Alexander looked up at him with bright, smiling eyes. They were slightly startling.

"You're right, master Yakov is gone and no one else could ever compare to him, I'm sure. No other teacher or master will have the same way of teaching, the same rules, the same style. None of them would be able to give me the same experience I'd have with master Yakov. Except," Alexander turned to smile at Thomas, "Except maybe the one person who learned from him."

Thomas blinked. Did he hear that right? Should he go grab a q-tip quickly so that he could clean his ears? Certainly he hadn't heard that correctly. That couldn't be right. That wasn't what Alexander had meant to say. Right?

"I'm sorry... what?" Thomas asked eventually, every inch of his face covered in doubt.

Alexander smiled so brightly. “Why don't you teach me?"

Thomas felt his mouth fall open.

"Me?" he asked incredulously.

Alexander shrugged. "Why not? You learned from master Yakov, and you were one of the only ones to know him so well. He taught you everything you know and you know everything about him. You know his teaching methods, his water bending style, his rules, his disciplines.

"And I've seen you water bend, Thomas. You're amazing! The way you move the water- like it's an extension of yourself! It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! I don't think I've ever met anyone more connected to their element than you are. And that's why you'd be the perfect fit. That's why I want you to teach me."

Thomas stood still for what felt like an eternity. He let the words sink in. _Never met anyone more connected to their element... most beautiful thing I've ever seen... I want you to teach me.._.

"I..." Thomas trailed, his heart beating quickly as his face blossomed pink from all the compliments. He breathed out unevenly, a small laugh escaping his lips. He shook his head in disbelieve.

"I don't even know what to say..."

Alexander stepped forward, closing their distance just a little bit. "Say you'll come with us," he said, smiling. "Say you'll be my teacher."

"I..."

Thomas didn't even know why he was hesitating. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast or why his body was tingling with excitement or why he wasn't replying because _of course he wanted to. Yes yes yes yes yes!_

**_BANG!_ **

Thomas jumped and looked up at his father who had just slammed his hands angrily on the cold, hard floor. He was glaring down at Thomas, smoke practically steaming out of his ears.

"No!" he yelled sternly.

"Father-" Thomas went to protest.

"I said no! You will listen to me, boy!" Nicholas snapped, pointing an angry finger at his son. He turned to Alexander, anger burning a hole through his gaze.

"Avatar Alexander, please leave this room at once. I need to talk to my son _alone_ ," he said warningly.

Alexander looked at Thomas, his eyes wide with concern. Thomas looked away. He knew that when his father got like this it was best to just obey him.

"Just go," he muttered to Alexander.

He did so reluctantly, eyeing Thomas cautiously before turning and heading out the door. Thomas swallowed thickly as he heard the door close, and braced himself for what was to come. He looked up at his father and awaited the worst.

" _What_ ," his father started, closing his eyes and pressing a gentle hand to his temple. “Were you _thinking_ , Thomas."

"I was thinking about our Tribe, father," Thomas replied, surprised at the amount of volume and confidence his voice had. He certainly didn't feel like that. “I was thinking about the world and the war. I was thinking about how long the rest of the world has suffered while we have done nothing to help!"

His voice only grew in volume as anger and emotions swirled around inside him. He'd thought about this many times before, how they'd done nothing to help the people suffering from the war, but only now was he voicing it. He'd never told anyone his thoughts on this, not even James.

His father frowned and put his arm back down by his side. "You know why we haven't helped. We can't get involved in the war, it would put too much at risk. Our whole tribe would be affected."

"The whole _world_ is being affected, right now! They're suffering, they're dying! They're putting their lives on the line to help the rest of the world and we still choose to do _nothing_? How can you just sit idly by and let them die for us!"

"I must put the needs of our tribe over the needs of the world," his father replied calmly but sternly. Thomas just gaped at him and made some sort of noise in disbelief.

"But it's for our tribe as well! We need to do our part to put an end to this war so that the world can be at peace again," Thomas argued.

Nicholas breathed in sharply in frustration and exhaled long and slow. "And how do you suppose we do that? Move our warriors out onto the battle front? Leave our city unprotected from intruders? Let all the women and children stay here to fend for themselves while all the men leave to fight and die in the war? Our city would be devastated, our economy would be ruined! Do you understand that?"

Thomas stood still and quiet, speechless after his father's words. He hadn't thought about all that, he'll admit it, but he still had that sense of urgency, that need to help the world however they could.

"But the world needs us," he said to the ground.

"Our people need us." Nicholas corrected sternly. Thomas looked up at him, a glint of hope in his eyes.

"Then let me go and help. Just me. I can teach the avatar, help him defeat the fire nation. I can do my part to help in the war," Thomas practically pleaded, making the biggest eyes at his father.

"No." Nicholas said sternly.

"But-"

"NO!" he yelled furiously, causing Thomas to flinch. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

"I can't believe-" his father started, getting choked up with anger and emotions. "I can't _believe_ you would even consider saying yes to that kind of offer! Don't you know where you belong? Don't you know your place!"

Thomas was shocked at first at his father's outburst, but then he felt his own blood start to boil with rage. He narrowed his eyes, readying himself for a battle he knew he was going to lose.

"It's my life, father! I can do what I want with it,” he started, settling into a familiar fight that he had with his parents often. So often in fact, that he knew his father's response before it even left his lips.

"You have duties to us, and to your tribe. You aren't old enough to be making these sorts of decisions for yourself!"

Thomas made some sort of exasperated sound of disbelief and frustration. "Well, how would I know how to make any decisions for myself? You and mother make them all for me!"

"Because your mother and I know what's best for you," Nicholas countered.

"No you don't! You want to keep me cooped up in the Palace all day like some sort of sick little puppy! You want to hide me away from the rest of the world and 'protect' me from it! Well guess what? You aren't protecting me from anything! You're just keeping me from having my own life! A normal life!"

"Thomas, you are a prince! The prince of the Water Tribe! It doesn't matter if you like it or not, you don't get to have a normal life! You don't get to ignore your duties and your job! You don't get to leave the Palace as you please and go off splashing around in the water! You don't get to go off and galavant with your friends and you don't get to choose who you marry!"

Thomas watched his father's face fall after he yelled out that last part. He stared at Thomas nervously, fear in his eyes. And for a second, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Thomas drew his eyebrows together in confusion, trying to wrap his head around what his father had just said.

"Choose who I... what? Since when has this ever been about _marriage_?"

He could see his father fidget nervously, opening and closing his mouth as he thought about what to say. Thomas narrowed his eyes.

"Father," he said shakily, demanding for an answer. He was shaking physically too, his fists clenched angrily by his sides. Nicholas sighed and deflated, staring at the ground guiltily.

"This isn't how your mother and I wanted to tell you," he started, sounding tired and regretful.

"Tell me what?" Thomas said through clenched teeth as he shook uncontrollably. He could already feel tears stinging his eyes. Nicholas sighed again before continuing.

"You're sixteen now, Thomas. You're of marrying age. And if we want an heir to the throne some day..."

"SPIT IT OUT!" Thomas yelled, sobs nearly threatening to wrack through his body.

His father looked like he was in great pain as he said, "We've found you a match. A lovely young man from a fine family. He's already asked for your hand in marriage and his family has already given their blessing. It's done Thomas."

Thomas felt like he had been hit by a train. All the wind had been knocked out of him and he was having trouble catching his breath. He clutched at his heart, feeling as though it was about to jump out of his chest at any moment.

"No," Thomas gasped in horror. The weight of the situation finally hitting him. He staggered backwards. This wasn't happening.

"Thomas-"

"No! No- I'm not- I'm not ready for marriage! I don't accept this!" he said, his voice hoarse and raw from the ever growing lump in his throat.

"It's not your choice. The decision has been made," his father said gravely. Thomas looked up at him pleadingly, his eyes welling with tears.

"No! Please, Father. Please don't do this to me. You can't- you _can't_ do this to me! I'm your son! You can't just sell me off to the highest bidder! I'm not a prize to be won!" Thomas yelled, the tears falling heavily now. His father looked at him with sad eyes and sighed.

"You know I don't think of you like that, my son. But this is what happens when you're a Prince. Your mother and I had an arranged marriage and look at how happy we are now. There's no use in getting worked up about it now," he told his son calmly, sincerely, sympathetically even.

Thomas hugged himself and stared at the ground as the tears rolled down his cheeks. The room felt like it was spinning out of control. His throat felt raw, and even if he did have something else to say, he didn't think he'd be able to get it out.

His father stood up and walked down the steps as he spoke softly. "I'm sorry, Thomas. I should have told you sooner. You deserve better than this, my son."

Nicholas wrapped his arms protectively around his son and pulled him in. Thomas didn't have the strength to fight back. He shut his eyes tight and pressed his face against his father's chest, feeling safe and at home in his arms. He shook as silent sobs still wracked through his body.

"Shh," his father said as he stroked his back soothingly. "Would you feel better if you got to meet this boy before the wedding? We could arrange a meeting with him and his parents for tomorrow?"

Thomas pulled away and wiped his tears, nodding his head slowly. "Yeah," he croaked, his voice kaput. "Yeah that'd be better, thanks."

He knew there was no arguing. He knew that this was his fate, that this was his future now. It was a future set for him, but he didn't have a choice. So, he gratefully accepted any tiny piece of generosity his father could give him.

Nicholas smiled down proudly at his son. "Thank you, Thomas, for being so brave and so loyal," he said with a smile.

Thomas only nodded and wiped away the last few tears.

"I love you so much," Nicholas whispered. Thomas threw his arms around his father and hugged him tightly. Nicholas did the same.

"I love you too."

 

———

 

"Sir?" a captain called, knocking at Prince James' door.

"What?" he snapped, looking up from his map.

"The crew needs orders, sir. Where are we headed?" the captain asked, his voice a little shaky in fear.

"Tell them to set a course for the Northern Water Tribe,'' James answered vaguely, looking back down at his map.

"The Water Tribe? Why?" the captain asked in disbelief.

James rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Because that's where the avatar is!"

"How do you know?"

James looked up, smirking evilly.

"Let's just say I have some inside sources. _Very_ inside."

The captain bowed and went to head out the door, but just before it could close-

"And captain? I need you to recruit as many battleships as you can. We are going to launch a massive invasion force. I think it's about time the second Water Tribe fell to us."


	12. Arranged Marriages Suck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> me, to myself: don’t rush Thomas and Alexander’s character development. They need to hate each other at first, remember? 
> 
> Also me: Aladdin carpet ride scene but with a dragon and GAY
> 
> (Aka this chapter starts out really cute and ends in ANGST)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thomas has a weak stomach because I also have a weak stomach and tend to throw up a lot and apparently I want him to suffer with me.
> 
> Also, slight non-con and harassment warning for this chapter. It’s nothing terrible and it’s pretty light but still, warnings are always a good thing to have.

Thomas rolled around in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He kept kicking the covers off because he was too hot and then pulling them back on again because he was too cold. It was a never ending cycle. And the worst part was the thoughts that wouldn't stop swarming his brain, holding him awake and in a state of near panic.

He was engaged.

To a man he didn't know.

He was to be married.

To someone he didn't even know.

How was anything going to be ok? How could he possibly sleep after hearing this kind of information? What was he supposed to do? Run away? Abandon his parents, his people, his tribe? What would everyone say? What would James say?

No. He couldn't do that. He couldn't do anything but lie there and pray for sleep to take him. At least then he could escape to a world where things were better, even if it was just a dream. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

**_Tap tap tap._ **

Thomas' eyes shot open as he heard something tapping on his window pane. He sat up and looked across his room.

The moon was bright, it was almost full and it's light danced across his room elegantly. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window, nearly falling out of bed at what he saw.

Avatar freaking Alexander was hovering by his window, grinning and waving like a maniac. Thomas groaned and rolled out of bed, tying his night robe as he trotted over to the window angrily.

He pushed it open and felt the cold night air slap him in the face. He ignored it and glared down at Alexander in annoyance.

"What do you want?" he snapped, not in the mood to play his games.

Alexander just smiled and propped his elbows up on the window sill, resting his head in his hands.

"Oh, you know. Couldn't sleep," he replied vaguely as he grinned up at Thomas, who did not look impressed at all.

"So?" Thomas snapped, losing his patience.

"Soooooo," Alexander sang, the grin on his face only spreading. "I was wondering if you wanted to go for a ride with me?"

"A ride?" Thomas asked in confusion. "On what?"

And that's when Alexander rose higher and Thomas realized he was flying. Well, he wasn't flying himself, but his dragon was, and he was on top of it. Thomas gasped in shock and took a couple steps back.

"Wha- is that your _dragon?_ " he asked in disbelief. Alexander nodded happily, seeming to be very content with himself. Thomas scoffed indignantly and said, "You're crazy if you think I'm getting on that thing."

Alexander's face fell and he stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. He tapped his fingers on the window sill and thought for a moment. Thomas thought he was going to lose his mind if Alexander tapped his freaking fingers one more time-

"You know what's the best thing about owning a dragon?" Alexander piped up, out of the blue. Thomas crossed his arms and looked at him skeptically. He knew that this was somehow a trap, but what could be the harm in humouring this weird, small boy.

"What?" he deadpanned. Alexander smirked smugly.

"You get to go wherever you want, whenever you want," he replied. He glanced at Thomas with a taunting grin. “Even beyond the outer waaalls.”

That caught Thomas' attention. He studied the dragon for a moment. It didn't seem _that_ dangerous. And this could be his last time to ever go off on his own, to ever just leave and be beneath the moonlight, in the water. And it was almost a full moon...

"Fine," Thomas sighed, walking up to the window and to Alexander who smiled brightly.

"Yes! I knew you wouldn't be able to say no to that!"

Thomas frowned.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now, how do I get on this thing?" he asked impatiently, scanning the back of the dragon worriedly.

Alexander rolled his eyes and grabbed Thomas' hands. His eyes widened as the young avatar pulled him out of the window and onto the back of the dragon.

"Woah!"

Thomas gasped in fear as he was pulled onto the dragon. He stepped on it's back and was surprised when it stayed put. He pushed off the window sill with his other leg and swung it over the side of the dragon. He fell slightly into Alexander as he managed to sit down rather awkwardly, his heart racing in his ears. He looked up and realized that he was facing the wrong way. He was sitting in front of Alexander and facing towards him, their faces so close that their noses were almost touching. He felt his face go red in embarrassment.

"Sorry,” he muttered lamely as he crawled around him and sat normally, behind him. Alexander just laughed lightheartedly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, I'm completely fine with watching you make a fool of yourself," Alex teased smugly.

Thomas frowned and crossed his arms, not willing to retort. “So are we gonna fly or not?"

Alexander turned to smirk at him over his shoulder.

"You might wanna hang on," he said as he turned back around and crouched down low to the dragon's back. “Let's go, Phillip!"

Thomas felt his heart drop just as Phillip did, and he scrambled to hold onto something as fear took over in his body. He surged forward and grabbed Alexander's waist, throwing his arms around him. He could hear the stupid boy laughing manically but he didn't care, he was more concerned with staying alive. He shut his eyes tight as Phillip dove down and then rose again, soaring high into the air.

Thomas cracked open a single eye and looked up. All he saw was sky. He slowly opened both eyes and gasped in amazement.

The stars were right above him, sparkling in the black night sky beautifully. He looked over his shoulder and smiled wide as he saw the moon behind him, so big and bright and beautiful. He looked down and saw the city, the ice reflecting the moon's light and making everything look shiny and sparkly. It was breathtaking.

"Whoa," he murmured in amazement, not really sure what to make of this beautiful scenery. He'd never seen the Water Tribe like this before. It was thrilling and eye opening to see it in this new perspective.

"Yeah, flying is the best, isn't it?" Alexander asked wistfully.

Thomas just nodded slowly in agreement, then realized Alexander couldn't see him do that, and cleared his throat. “Yeah, it is."

Thomas felt the wind pull through his hair and blow across his face. He sighed. "How do you just do this everyday?"

The question was rhetorical, and Alexander knew so he only just shrugged in reply. He smirked as they flew over the wall and the gate, into the open ocean.

"You might want to hold on again," he said, his only warning before lunging forward and instructing Phillip to dive gracefully down to the ocean.

Thomas gasped in surprise and tightened his arms around Alexander, who just smiled at the thought of this stupid, arrogant Prince being so scared.

Phillip came right up to the water, dipping one talon in as he flew over it. Thomas laughed incredulously as he was sprayed with water from the ocean. He closed his eyes and breathed in the cold night air, letting the adrenaline pulse through his veins. This was the best thing he'd ever experienced.

Phillip landed on a large iceberg, not too far away from the Water Tribe, and perched himself on top of it. Alexander hopped off and slid down the iceberg until he landed on the flat part of it. Thomas followed suit, but he was a lot less graceful than Alex and ended up sliding down on his butt until he stopped at Alexander's feet.

"Ahahaha!" He laughed hysterically at Thomas as he stood up and dusted himself off. “What was that?”

He scowled at Alexander and crossed his arms, waiting for him to stop laughing.

"I thought you were a Prince? Aren't Princes supposed to be poised and graceful?" Alex kept teasing. Thomas just stood there, frowning.

"For your information," Thomas cut into his laughter, his voice sharp, "I am very graceful."

He walked up to the water and breathed in deeply, calming himself down. He stepped forward with his right foot and brought both his arms up in front of him, his wrists bent down. He moved his arms higher and flicked his wrists, a stream of water rising from the ocean and up to his hands. He guided it up above his head and around his back, and then back in front of him again. He moved his hands in circles around it and it became a large sphere of water just floating in the air.

Thomas felt the push and the pull of the water as he circled his hands around it, keeping it in the same place. Alexander watched with amazement as Thomas suddenly threw his arms up, the water flying upwards and bursting into a million droplets. They flew up, and then came back down in the form of small, intricate snowflakes.

Alexander stared up, a smile of joy and wonder on his face as it snowed around him and Thomas.

"How do you do that?" Alexander asked as he looked back down at Thomas. The Prince turned to him and shrugged.

"I don't know, I just do. I mean, after years of practice it kind of becomes second nature. It's the same way you fire bend," he explained, tugging at the white gloves on his hands, the same ones from before.

"Well, I don't think I'll ever be able to do that," he said, a little frustratedly, as he stared at the water. "I don't know why, but water bending is so hard for me. That's why I was being really picky about my teacher,” Alexander admitted. “It's just... fire bending and earth bending came so easy to me! But whenever I try to water bend nothing happens!"

Thomas watched Alexander glared at the snow beneath his feet. He studied the avatar carefully, taking in the new information presented before him. At least now he had an explanation for why Alexander had been so picky about a teacher.

"You'll get it eventually, don't worry," he replied eventually, trying his best to sound sincere.

Alexander just scowled. “No. You don't get it.”

"Yeah, I don't," Thomas said haughtily, his hands on his hips. “Because I'm not the avatar. I only had to learn one element and it came naturally to me because it's my natural element. Your natural element is fire, right?"

"Yeah...” Alexander nodded slowly.

"Well that's why it came so easy for you," Thomas explained.

"But that doesn't explain why water is so hard for me," Alexander countered.

"What's the opposite of fire?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow at the strange question, but then his face instantly lit up in understanding. “Water! Water is the opposite of fire! And if fire's my natural element, water's my unnatural element!"

"You're trying to bend your natural opposite. That's why it's so hard," Thomas stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Alexander chose to just ignore his tone, too excited with his newfound understanding.

They stood there in silence for a moment or two, Alexander staring at the water and Thomas staring at the moon. It was so big tonight, almost full. By tomorrow it would be a full moon. Thomas smiled, just thinking about how strong he'd feel when the light of the moon hit him. A water bender draws their power from the moon, so when it's full they are granted with more strength and power than when it isn't full. It was a bittersweet thought, though, because even though Thomas would feel it's strength, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. You can't go out and water bend when you have dinner with your future husband to attend to.

Thomas frowned as dread pooled in his stomach again. Just when he had managed to forget about-

Alexander suddenly cleared his throat, startling Thomas out of his thoughts.

"Look, the reason I brought you out here is because..." Alexander started, trailing off as if to gather his thoughts. He looked as though he was searching for the right words, but for what, Thomas didn't know.

Finally, Alex continued. “I wanted to apologize- for getting you in trouble with your dad. I didn't mean to.”

Thomas blinked, surprised by the fact that he was apologizing again. Then, he shook himself out of it and shrugged his shoulders, trying to ignore the tight feeling in his chest.

He picked up a piece of ice off the ground and flung it into the air. It traveled far before hitting the water with a splash. Throwing things felt good. He picked up another piece of ice.

"It's fine," he said, voice tight as he chucked the ice into the water. "It wasn't your fault."

_Splash!_ , went the next bit of ice.

"I just didn't think there'd be a problem. I thought you'd be ok to come with us," Alexander explained, watching Thomas throw the ice uneasily.

"Well I'm fine with it. I'd love to leave that ice fortress and be free and actually help the world and the war and not feel guilty while my father sits around and does nothing."

_Splunk_!

"But my father says that I have duties to my tribe, to my people. And I can't leave, I can't have a life of my own because ‘I'm a Prince, the Prince of the Water Tribe and I can't have a normal life’." Thomas quoted his father, making his voice deep and rough like his. He scowled as he threw another ice block.

Thomas bent down and picked up a big one, bigger than his hand. He tossed it up and caught it with his right hand. He glared at it, suddenly very angry. Alexander watched carefully from the side, saw how twisted his face was.

"Oh, and apparently," Thomas continued, chuckling emptily. "Apparently I am _engaged_ now! It was sure nice of my father to tell me _that_ -"

Thomas hurled the ice forward at the end of his sentence, using as much force as possible. He watched as the ice flew across the water and fell in with a splash somewhere very far away. He stood there, breathing heavily and staring at where the ice had caused ripples in the water.

"You're what?" Alex suddenly asked in a tone of disbelief.

Thomas turned to him, his anger suddenly gone and replaced with just this empty feeling in his heart and this sick feeling in his stomach.

"My parents arranged a marriage for me behind my back. I just found out earlier today," Thomas explained to the ground, his voice now low and quiet.

"To who?" Alexander asked, sounding absolutely flabbergasted.

Thomas breathed another empty laugh. "His name's Tyrok, I think. I don't know. I'm meeting him for the first time tomorrow."

That's when Thomas looked up for the first time since telling Alexander all this, and saw his face. It honestly took him by surprise, he hadn't expected Alexander to care at all, but his expression said otherwise. He looked sad, concerned, sympathetic even. He looked like he actually cared about Thomas.

"And there's nothing you can do?" Alexander asked softly, his eyes wide and staring at Thomas. It made him uneasy, he had to look away.

"No. I have to do this. I don't have a choice," Thomas declared, staring at the water as it reflected the light of the moon.

 

———

 

"Sir, we're nearing the North Pole. What are your orders?"

James Reynolds smiled in satisfaction as he stared out of the new window in the helm.

"Stay on course. Those directions I gave you should lead us straight to them. And when we get there, we're going to have a little fun. Just like we did with the South Pole."

 

———

 

Thomas stared at his reflection in the mirror on his vanity. He stared long and hard, but the longer he stared the more he couldn't recognize himself.

His servants had done a good job, he didn't mean to imply that they hadn't. He studied his perfectly tamed curly hair, feeling uneasy about the lack of wildness it usually had. He pulled on a curl and watched it bounce back up stiffly. He carefully touched the string of blue beads woven into his hair, one on either side of his head. They were pretty, but they weren't what he'd like to be wearing.

He studied his face. His perfectly crafted face, painted in makeup by his lovely servants. He touched his perfectly smooth and evenly coloured skin, which felt odd and unnatural under his fingertips. He looked at his eyes, which had a dusting of sparkly blue eyeshadow on them, his eye lashes longer and thicker and darker than normal from the mascara on them. And it did look good, but it just wasn't _him_.

He moved his hand to his ear and softly pushed the long, dangling blue earring in his ear so that it swayed back and forth. He had one in each ear and they were beautiful blue crystals, but again, he didn't feel like himself in them.

The truth was, he felt foolish. He felt like a doll, like a pretty piece of artwork. He felt cheap and fake, like he was about to be auctioned off for a lot more money than he was worth. He felt disgusting and unnatural and used. He felt like an object, like he was someone's possession.

Or at least, about to be.

He scowled as he looked at the time. Tyrok and his parents were about to arrive. He had to be downstairs in the dining hall to greet them, but he couldn't muster the strength or courage to stand.

How was this his life now? Was he going to have to spend every day from now on feeling this way? Like some prized possession? He wanted to throw up at the thought of it.

But he didn't have a choice. He had to do this. He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath, willing himself to calm down and face the facts. No matter what, this was happening, and he may as well just go and get it over with.

He opened his eyes, took one last pained look at himself in the mirror, and stood up. He walked across his room and pushed open his door. He held his head high as he walked through the halls, down the stairs, and to the dining room. He held out his hand and went to open the door, but stopped just as he was about to turn the handle. He gripped the doorknob tightly as his heart pounded in his ears. One last time, he closed his eyes and breathed in deep, before opening the door and walking inside.

"Thomas, so nice of you to finally join us," Nicholas boomed, his voice light and joking. Thomas guessed he was trying to relieve some of the tension, but it didn't help much. Thomas walked up to his parents, his face betraying no emotion.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he said tonelessly.

His father frowned, clearly worried about the state of his son. The day before he had been so upset about this, but today it was like he had no feelings at all. Thomas just stared steadily at his parents, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart.

"You look so handsome, sweetie," his mother said with a proud smile on her face. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and used the other one to hold his chin up. "You are so beautiful, my little prince. So strong and brave."

"Thank you, mother," he said, nodding his head once in thanks. She smiled, but it appeared sad. She rubbed her thumb in circles on his shoulder soothingly.

"And you're going to be alright, ok?" she said reassuringly, her voice soft and caring. "Your father and I won't let anything happen to you. You're completely safe here."

Thomas felt himself smile for real this time as he gazed up at his mother's kind, loving face.

"I know," he said with a nod. He looked at his father who was giving him the same proud, kind smile as his mother. He smiled as he felt his heart calm down.

His parents were right, they would never let anything happen to him. He was safe here. He had nothing to worry about.

Suddenly, a door to his right opened and a servant poked her head inside the room.

"Sir?" she asked, addressing Nicholas.

"Yes, Ina?" Nicholas replied, looking over at her expectantly.

"Your guests have arrived," she answered.

"Alright, thank you. Please send them in."

Ina nodded and scurried away, the door swinging shut behind her. Thomas jumped when he felt his father's hand on his back suddenly, pushing him forward.

"Come on, let's go do this," he said as he smiled down at his son. Thomas smiled back, although it was a little shaky. His heart rate picked up again as they all walked toward the door, waiting for it to open.

It opened.

Thomas held his breath.

A man and a woman walked in. They were both pale skinned with blonde hair and brown eyes. They didn't look like they were from the water tribe at all. They exchanged friendly hellos with his parents. Thomas was behind them, observing. He felt like he was in a dream.

He heard something along the lines of, ‘this is Tyrok’ but it sounded distant and far away. Thomas saw as a young man walked through the door. And then it was like reality hit him across the face with a brick.

Tyrok was NOT what Thomas had pictured him to be.

First of all, he was old. Well, not _old_ , but older than Thomas had expected him to be. He looked at least 25, which gave him nine years ahead of Thomas. He shuddered.

He was also huge. He stood about six feet two inches tall and he had very broad shoulders and thick, muscular arms. His neck was thick and his jaw was square with blond stubble. His eyes were small and beady and he had an unusually large nose. And it wasn't that he was ugly or anything, but he wasn't exactly what Thomas had expected and it took him by surprise.

"-our son, Prince Thomas."

Thomas snapped out of his thoughts and blinked in surprise after being addressed by his father. He stepped forward and did his best to smile.

"Hello," he said, bowing his head politely. "It's so nice to meet you all."

Tyrok stepped forward and smiled at Thomas. It was a strange smile, though. It almost looked menacing, but in a way in which only Thomas could notice. Maybe he was just a little paranoid and on edge, but he could swear there was something off about it.

"The pleasure's all mine," Tyrok said, his voice low and scratchy. He took Thomas' hand in his own and raised it to his lips. Thomas felt very uncomfortable as he kissed his gloved hand, looking up at him while he did.

Tyrok then stood back up and it was as if nothing had ever happened. His father suggested they sit down and start dinner. They all walked to the table and sat down. Thomas had to sit next to Tyrok while his parents sat across from them and Thomas' parents sat at either end of the table.

Small talk was exchanged. Thomas hardly spoke. Soup was served first. Thomas hardly ate. Mostly, he just sat still and silent, listening to his parents talk with Tyrok and his parents.

Thomas learned that Tyrok was 27. That was eleven years older than Thomas. It made him want to throw up. Why was he interested in Thomas if he was so much older? Couldn't he find someone around his own age to be with? Or was there something so wrong with him that he had to resort to paying the Chief of the water tribe heaps of money in order to marry his son. Thomas glanced at Tyrok again and figured that it was probably true.

He seemed perfectly charming on the outside. He said all the right things, smiled a lot, acted perfectly fine and polite and normal. But still, Thomas couldn't shake the weird feeling out of him. He felt very uneasy around this man.

Salad was served next. Thomas had already endured forty minutes of this dinner but it felt like so much longer. Suddenly, Tyrok turned to him.

"-and I bet Thomas is very talented," he said, probably something about the conversation Thomas hadn't been listening to.

Tyrok put his hand on Thomas' shoulder, gripping him with a little too much force. He felt like his skin was on fire where Tyrok touched it and he felt an embarrassed flush creep onto his face. It probably didn't look aggressive from the outside, but it sure felt like it to Thomas.

Thomas tried to not let it affect him. Tried to ignore the burning sensation and the warning siren blaring in his head. He smiled shakily and tried to accept the compliment. Nothing came out of his mouth.

"Well, he's been water bending since he was about four years old. He puts a lot of hard work into his training, but I also think a lot of it is pure talent," his mother cut in, using a fond and praising voice. Bless the spirits for her soul.

"Well, that's quite impressive," Tyrok said in a low voice while side glancing Thomas with a look that sent chills of fear down his spine.

Tyrok ran his hand down Thomas's shoulder and onto his back, slowly dragging his fingers to the small of his back, leaving a trail of a crawling, intrusive sensation everywhere he touched. He smirked at Thomas, obviously sensing he was uncomfortable, before removing his hand and going back to their conversation like it was nothing.

Thomas felt his heart beating in his ears. His vision was swimming. He continued to look at Tyrok with horror, but no one seemed to notice. He looked desperately around the table. Everyone was talking happily. No one paid any mind to him. Was he the only one who saw that?

He then realized that the others probably saw it, but saw it as a tender act of affection. Thomas didn't feel that way. He felt invaded, he felt uncomfortable and uneasy. He felt dizzy. He felt nauseous.

"Forgive me,” Thomas spoke out suddenly, interrupting whatever his father was saying. “But may I excuse myself for a moment?”

They all stopped and turned to him, wearing bewildered expressions. Thomas panicked. Why had he done that? What was wrong with him?

"I just have to use the restroom," he explained politely, smiling kindly despite how much his insides were twisting. His father looked at him with concern and confusion.

"Uh. Yes, of course," Nicholas replied, shaking himself out of it.

Thomas smiled and stood up, bowing respectfully. He gracefully walked out of his chair and across the dining room. And in his head the whole time:

_Don't walk too fast. Don't walk too fast. Don't walk too fast. Don't walk too fast don't walk too fast dontwalktoofast-_

He made it to the door and opened it and walked out, somehow miraculously without making a scene. Or at least, more of a scene then he just did by interrupting his father. He swallowed harshly. But what choice did he have? Get sick on the dining room table? He didn't think so.

He sucked in a quick breath, realizing he hadn't been breathing the whole time. His breathing was short and fast as he continued to walk down the hall. He just needed to find a bathroom so he could calm down and get back-

"Hey," came a voice.

Tyrok's voice.

Thomas froze in his tracks, instant fear paralyzingly his body, but for what reason, he didn't know. His heart beat fast as he heard the heavy footsteps getting closer. He breathed in, and out, and then turned around.

Tyrok was three paces in front of him. Thomas flinched. He hadn't expected him to be so close yet.

"Is everything ok?" Tyrok asked, concern in his voice and on his face.

Thomas was immediately taken aback. Was this the same Tyrok as before? Was he actually concerned for his well being? Did Thomas just completely misjudge him?

"Oh," he said, still a little shaken. "I- umm."

Thomas blinked, snapping himself out of it.

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine. I was just..." he said, turning his head and pointing down the hall at nothing. He failed to ever finish that sentence.

“Just...” Tyrok prompted, causing Thomas to look at him again. “What? Trying to get away from me?”

Thomas froze, humiliation creeping up on him. Was he being that obvious?

Thomas just stared at him with a mixed expression of shock, confusion, and disgust. Tyrok smiled, flashing a set of pearly white teeth with his bottom lip caught between them. He reached up and stroked Thomas' right arm.

"You know I have to say, I am really quite impressed with you," Tyrok started, using a deep, husky voice which made Thomas' skin crawl. Tyrok flicked his eyes down, clearly scanning over every inch of Thomas' body, making him feel very violated and uncomfortable.

"When I'd agreed to this, I knew I'd be getting a Prince," he continued. His eyes flicked back up to Thomas' face and he smiled slyly. "But I had no idea you'd be such a pretty little thing."

Thomas scrunched up his face in horror and disgust, thoroughly offended.

Tyrok lifted his hand and softly brushed a finger along the side of Thomas' face. He smiled wider. "And all dolled up for me too,” he whispered.

Thomas stood still, fear freezing him to the spot. Every inch of skin Tyrok touched felt like it was burning from hot acid. He felt sick and horrified- no- scandalized was a better word. He felt disgusted and scandalized.

He swallowed and tried to summon any amount of courage he had to get out of this situation. He moved his head to the side, detaching himself from Tyrok's touch. He narrowed his eyes and glared at his groom-to-be.

"Excuse me," he spat coolly, baring his teeth and clenching his jaw. He spun around on his heels.

He needed to get away from there.

Pain sparked from his right wrist as Tyrok grabbed it roughly and gripped it tightly. He whirled around in horror, red hot anger flooding him.

"And where do you think you're going?" Tyrok asked darkly, his smirking smile gone and replaced with an intimidating scowl.

Thomas knew he was scared- he could hear his own heart in his hears for crying out loud- but he didn't back down.

"Let go of me," he growled, tugging his wrist away. It didn't work, Tyrok held onto him tightly, squeezing even more. He pulled Thomas closer by the wrist and smirked down at him evilly.

"I don't think so. You see, you belong to me now," he whispered down to Thomas.

Thomas glared up at him, anger swirling in his stomach and rising to his head. He tried to pull away again, tried with such force that his curls and his earrings shook back and forth violently.

"I don't belong to anyone!"

Even his best attempts were hardly fazing Tyrok, who continued to smirk condescendingly down at him.

"Tut tut. Pretty young thing doesn't know his place," he scolded, pouting mockingly. He reached up with his other hand to hold Thomas' chin in it, curling his large hand around his jaw.

Thomas felt fear and anger swirl inside him, making him see red. He brought up his other hand and pushed Tyrok's off of his face.

"Get off of me!" he gasped as his heart beat loudly and heavily.

And then it all happened so fast.

Tyrok grabbed Thomas' other hand by the wrist and twisted his arm away. Thomas didn't have time to react before he was being pushed backwards.

Thomas felt his back collide with the wall, knocking all the air out of him.

Thomas gasped and winced, screwing his eyes shut.

His eyes flew open again when he felt hot breath on his face.

Thomas reeled backwards and away from Tyrok, hitting the back of his head on the wall. He winced again, but the pain didn’t stop the absolute terror spiking through him as Tyrok snarled in his face, his hulking figure looming over Thomas and pinning him to the wall.

"Listen here, little prince," he spat in Thomas' face. “Whether you like it or not, you're mine now. You belong to me.”

Thomas felt himself freeze, every muscle in his body paralyzed in fear. He stared wide-eyed at Tyrok’s beady little eyes and held his breath.

“I made sure of that when I paid your daddy all that money for you.”

Awful. This was awful. Thomas felt like crying- felt like screaming- but he was absolutely frozen.

“So, if you want this to end well-“

Stop. Please make it stop.

“-you’re gonna have to-“

"HEY!"

Tyrok stopped at the booming voice that echoed across the hall.

He stepped back, away from Thomas and whirled around to see who it was.

Thomas, still frozen in place, could only snap his head to look around Tyrok and see who was there. Who had come to his rescue?

And there he was. Standing at the end of the hall. His arms were crossed angrily over his chest and his foot was tapping rapidly. His face was full of anger as he glared at Tyrok with malice. His face was red as his clothes and there was practically smoke coming out of his ears.

Thomas' eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Oh no. Not him. Not here. Not now. Please god, not now.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Alexander yelled furiously as he took three more fast steps towards them.

Thomas swallowed hard from where he was still being held against the wall. Tyrok seemed to notice this too and quickly took his hands off of Thomas and folded them across his chest.

"What the hell are _you_ doing!" Tyrok spat angrily. “Who do you think you are?”

Thomas held his breath as he watched them glare at one another. He brought his hands down and subconsciously rubbed them where they were sore from Tyrok’s grip.

Alexander's eyes grew dark as he practically shook with rage. There was no way this could end well.

"I'm the avatar," he said boldly, straightening his back and lifting his head challengingly. And even though Alexander was a whole foot shorter than Tyrok, he somehow managed to make him look small. “Who are you?”

"The avatar?" Tyrok gasped in surprise. He was stunned. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"I-" he faltered, turning back to glance at Thomas, who wouldn't meet his gaze. He turned back to Alexander, a scowl on his face.

"I was just leaving," he surrendered bitterly. He shot Thomas a glare over his shoulder before spinning around and storming off back to the dining hall.

Thomas watched him retreat and then gasped for air, finally breathing now that he was gone.

His heart thudded in his chest, aftershocks of panic still pulsing through him. He felt sick. He leaned against the wall as the room swayed beneath his feet.

Meanwhile, Alexander glared at where Tyrok at disappeared to, completely unaware of Thomas' rapidly increasing heart rate.

"Can you believe that guy?!" Alexander asked with an incredible amount of disgust and repulsion in his voice. He turned around to address Thomas, and saw him collapsed against the wall, shaking and hugging himself.

"Hey..." he said softly, walking over to Thomas. "Are you ok?"

Thomas gasped for air. For some reason, he couldn't seem to breath. He clutched at his sides, willing himself to calm down. He shut his eyes tight.

He couldn't let Alexander see him like this.

He couldn't let anyone see him like this.

So, he pulled out the only defence mechanism he knew.

"I'm fine!" he snapped at Alexander.

He pushed himself off the wall and forced himself to stand up straight, no matter how shaky his legs felt. He scowled and glared at Alexander who just looked taken aback by his outburst.

"You shouldn't be here!" he spat as he started to walk forward, towards Alexander.

"What?!" Alexander’s voice cracked as it went up an octave.

Thomas clenched his fists and pushed past Alexander.

"I didn't need your help! I had it under control!" he kept snapping and spitting lies to Alexander. He didn't know why he was saying something so obviously untrue, but then again, he had no idea what he was even feeling at that moment. There were too many emotions swarming his senses to identify just one.

"Are you kidding me?!" Alexander yelled at him, Thomas could hear his footsteps behind him getting closer. He couldn't deal with this right now. He just had to get somewhere safe so he could get a grip before everything started collapsing.

He got to the end of the hall and turned around, glaring at Alexander who stopped in his tracks. He looked at Thomas with disbelief and frustration. Thomas took in a shaky breath.

"Just leave me alone," he said, his voice cracking at the end. Alexander's face fell but Thomas paid no mind to it. He turned around and walked around the corner as fast as he could, leaving Alexander behind in the dust.

Finally, he managed to find the bathroom. You'd think living in this ice palace for your whole life would make getting around it easier, but no. Thomas pushed open the door and stumbled his way in. He walked over to the sink and clutched it for dear life. He put all his weight onto it, not trusting is legs to support him anymore. He breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes.

Tyrok's face was right there in front of him again, smirking at him darkly.

Thomas gasped and opened his eyes. He shuddered and tried to breath but it was still too difficult. He felt like the world was spinning. He heard Tyrok's voice in his head. He felt him pinning his wrists down. He felt the hot breath on his face and the burning sensation from where he touched his face, his shoulders, his back, his neck.

Nausea swept over Thomas and he gagged into the sink. His insides churned and swirled and the panic in his chest just tightened. His vision was swimming and the room kept spinning. He clutched the edge of the sink, trying desperately to ground himself.

It didn't work. Another heavy wave of nausea and then Thomas was throwing up in the sink.

He coughed and gagged until he couldn't anymore, then he gasped for air. He kept his eyes closed as he breathed in and out. Slowly, his heart calmed down. Slowly, the sick feeling was gone. And slowly, he felt better.

He opened his eyes and looked up at himself in the mirror. He didn't look terrible. There was some black makeup smudged under his eyes. He grabbed a towel off its handle and wiped it away easily. His skin looked pale, probably because he was still a little shaken up, but otherwise, it was as if nothing had happened.

He exhaled in relief and went to put the towel back on its handle. At least it was over now.

As he reached up to hang up the towel, his sleeve fell down, and he saw it. On his wrist, on the skin just below where his gloves end, were dark purple and red bruises that gave the suspicious impression of fingers.

Thomas panicked and pulled his hand back to study them. They were very real and very noticeable. He pulled down his other sleeve. They were on that wrist too. He stared at them and stared at them. And that's when it hit him.

It wasn't over. It was never going to be over. He was marrying this man. This awful man who thought of him as a possession. It was everything Thomas had feared would happen. And he was going to have to spend the rest of his life with this man. There would be no escaping it. And if this is what he had done in just the first couple hours Thomas had known him....

What else would he do to Thomas?

It wouldn't matter if he said no.

He could try to fight but Tyrok was much stronger.

What was going to happen to him?

Thomas was sick again in the bathroom sink.

 

———

 

Somehow, he’d managed to calm down.

Somehow, he’d managed to walk back to the dining room.

Somehow, he’d managed to open the door.

Somehow, he’d managed to sit back down next to Tyrok.

And somehow, miraculously, he’d managed to keep a straight face through it all.

"Ah Thomas, come back to join us?" Tyrok's father asked cheerily. Obviously he had no idea his son just assaulted Thomas in the hallway.

Thomas nodded politely and pushed away the sick feeling in his gut.

"Feeling any better?" Tyrok asked as he leaned in close to Thomas, smiling, but in a creepy way. Thomas forced himself to smile and opened his mouth to answer the question.

"Yes, thank you," he croaked out, genuinely surprised he actually managed to speak. Tyrok stared at him for a second longer, as if he was trying to see if Thomas would crack.

"Good, I'm glad," he said with a smile that was so fake it would have people believe unicorns were real.

And once again, the conversation continued and it was as if nothing had happened.

Thomas stared down at his food. There was no way he could eat when he felt like he was going to be sick (again). He just stared and tried to forget about Tyrok and his violating stare and his invasive hands. But every time he tried to, the image of his face mere centimetres away came into view. Thomas could still feel his back being slammed against the wall, his hot breath on his face, his wrists being grabbed and pinned against the wall.

Thomas couldn't breath all of a sudden. It was like his entire world was falling apart. He felt like crying. He could feel the lump in his throat growing and his eyes stung as he tried to fight off tears. There was no way he was going to give Tyrok the satisfaction of seeing him cry, not when he'd already taken so much of Thomas' pride.

Still, it wasn't like he could stop the panic rising in his chest.

And just when he thought he was going to snap-

**_Bang!_ **

The doors burst open.

"Sir! We have an emergency!"

Thomas whirled around in his seat to see about ten royal guards bursting into the dining room.

Nicholas stood instantly, the wood of his chair scraping against the icy floor. “What is it? What happened?"

The first guard looked grim.

"The Water Tribe is under attack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments! Please keep feeding me praise it makes me so happy uwu


	13. Attack on the North - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one... so get ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salut!
> 
> It feels like I haven’t updated in FOREVER even though it’s only been two weeks. This chapter is hella long and the next one is even longer so get ready for that:) 
> 
> (Also, if anyone here is wondering, I finished Nothing Can Break This so go read the last chapter ok bye)

After being yelled at by Thomas, Alexander felt the need to go on a ride on Phillip. He stomped angrily out of the warm Palace and back into the freezing cold. He didn't care about the cold right then, his frustration was more than enough to keep him warm. He stalked over to the stable where he was keeping Phillip, not even bothering to silence the angry voices in his head.

Stupid Thomas.

Stupid stuck-up, spoiled, ungrateful Prince Thomas.

Seriously, if Alexander had known that he would react that way, he never would have interrupted... whatever was going on between him and that ugly tall blond dude. It wasn't any of his business, he knew, but he thought that Thomas was in trouble and he wanted to help.

Correction, he _knew_ Thomas was in trouble and _needed_ his help. He could tell by the way Thomas was shaking that he was scared- terrified, even.

"Come on, Phillip," Alexander muttered as he and Phillip took off into the air. By this point, he was too wrapped up in his own head to really care where he went, so he just let Phillip fly out past the city.

What had been going on? What had even happened between Thomas and that guy? Was that the guy he was supposed to marry? Alexander scrunched up his nose. He was way to old and ugly to be marrying Thomas; he deserved better. But what happened in the hall? Was he... was he trying to....

Alexander didn't even know how to finish that sentence. He felt his insides twist at the thought of it.

Who would do that to Thomas?

Well, at least he had been there to stop it from escalating, even if Thomas hadn't been very grateful. Maybe he had just been scared and unable to react appropriately, Alexander thought. Maybe he had been too hard on Thomas. Maybe he should go back to the Palace and check on him. Maybe-

Alexander's thought process stopped abruptly as his eyes settled on something in the horizon.

He squinted.

Then his eyes went wide.

"Oh no."

 

———

 

Alexander's heart raced as he ran up to the Palace. He scrambled up the icy steps like his life depended on it. He breathed heavily, adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

He made it to the top and ran up to the doors, up to the guards who were positioned at the doors.

"Hey!" he yelled as he neared them.

"Yes, avatar, sir?" one of the guards asked.

Alexander gasped for air.

"The Fire Nation-"

_Gasp_.

"Is here. A whole-"

_Gasp_.

"Fleet of ships! You have-"

_Wheeze_.

"To warn the Chief!”

The guard's face was blank in confusion as he listened to Alexander.

"What?" he asked dumbly. Alexander felt his blood boil but ignored it as the sense of urgency and panic rose in him again.

"We're under attack! The fire nation's here and they've brought a whole fleet of ships! There are dozens!"

Alexander was yelling, waving his arms around wildly in a desperate attempt to get his point across. The soldier's face blanked with panic and he turned to his fellow guard.

"Go warn the king. Gather the Palace guards and all the servants. I'll go get the water benders and the masters," he ordered. The guard saluted him quickly and then ran off into the Palace. The other guard started sprinting down the steps and out of sight. Alexander looked around in confusion.

"Sooo... what should I do?" he asked to no one. He blinked a couple of times before shrugging and running into the Palace to find his friends. He was desperately going to need them.

 

———

 

Suddenly, all of Thomas' previous problems seemed so small and insignificant that they disappeared from his mind. Now, there was a whole new type of panic, one that spread to everyone in the room.

At first, there was only shocked silence. It was so quiet that if a pin fell to the floor, the noise would ring out and echo off the walls. But then, an instant later, _chaos_.

Everyone started moving at once. The Chief stood up and ran off with the guards, asking questions and giving out orders. Tyrok and his parents fled as well, walking behind the Chief. Thomas ran after his father and caught up to him just as they entered the main hall.

"Take our guests to the panic chamber, they'll be more than safe there," he ordered a guard, who nodded and proceeded to escort Tyrok's parents away.

"What can I do, father?" Thomas asked from beside Nicholas.

The Chief turned to his son and looked down at him with a frown of concern. "Nothing. You will stay here in the Palace where you'll be safe."

Thomas just gawked in disbelief.

"Sir, with all due respect, I am a trained soldier and highly skilled in combat," Tyrok spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention of the Chief and the Prince. "It would be my honour to help in this battle."

"Tyrok, you don't have to-"

"It's my tribe too. Let me do my part to protect it. Please," Tyrok said, staring down the Chief while simultaneously bowing in respect. Thomas blinked in surprise at him. This was quite an honourable thing to do, even if it was someone as awful as Tyrok.

"Very well," Nicholas nodded, "You can go join the other soldiers. There's armour and weapons in the armoury just downstairs."

Tyrok bowed once more before running and joining a group of men who were descending a large, spiraling staircase. Thomas turned back to his father, complete rage and disbelief spread across his face.

"You're kidding me. You're letting _him_ fight but not _me_?" Thomas exclaimed, pointing angrily at where Tyrok just disappeared. Nicholas scowled, his expression suddenly turning angry too, but it was much more intense than whatever childishly angry expression Thomas was wearing.

"You are the crowned Prince of the Northern Water Tribe. I need you to stay here where you'll be safe. But more importantly I need you here in case something happens," Nicholas said sternly, his voice booming.

"In case what happens!?" Thomas yelled angrily. Nicholas just gave him a grave look and suddenly Thomas understood. The moment of realization sucked all of the anger out of him for a second. And in that split second of bewildered confusion and shock-

"Guards! Take the Prince to the dungeons. See to it that he doesn’t leave until the battle is over."

Thomas' eyes went wide as he felt a guard on either side of him grab his arms and pull him back.

" _WHAT?!_ " Thomas yelled as he tried to fight them off, pulling his arms away and leaning forward with all his might.

He turned to his father, fear, anger, rage, confusion, and hurt all mixed together in his wide eyes. Nicholas just stared back at him gravely.

"This is for your own good, son," he said, his voice full of regret.

"You can’t just lock me up like a prisoner!" Thomas yelled, shrieked as he was pulled away, further and further from his father. Tears started to spill from his eyes as Nicholas took one last glance at his son and then turned around.

"FATHER!!" Thomas yelled, his chest burning with emotions he never knew he could feel. His throat was tight and sore, his eyes were burning from the tears that threatened to spill over. He shook with rage but he also felt so upset and small and helpless and.... _betrayed_.

He felt like his lungs were going to collapse. He watched as his father walked further and further away while he was still desperately trying to fight the guards. He was so angry! Angrier than he's ever been at his father... and yet he still couldn't help but feel like a hurt child calling out for their parent as he yelled one last time.

"DAD!"

His voice broke halfway through and he knew how pathetic he sounded, but he was hurt. It felt like someone had physically cut his heart open with a knife. The guards pulled him down a staircase off to the side and he stopped fighting them. There was no point to it anymore. He let them drag him down the stairs and to the cellars where they usually kept the most dangerous criminals. Not the Princes.

"We're sorry, Prince Thomas, but your father ordered us," one of the men said as they threw Thomas into one of the cells. Thomas didn’t answer, just wrapped his arms around himself as he heard them lock the cell door from behind him.

"It's for your safety. It's nothing personal," the other guard said, his voice full of pity.

Thomas scrunched up his nose in anger and tightened his grip around himself. He didn't need their stupid pity.

Thomas just continued to stand with his back to the door, hugging himself as he heard the battle going on somewhere above him.

 

———

 

"Alexander-!"

Eliza gasped for breath as she and her friends ran out into the cold where it seemed everyone was going mad, running around like crazy and yelling orders. Their small group made it to the base of the stairs and she just managed to grab a hold of Alexander's hand, stopping him from continuing forward.

"Alexander slow down! What's going on?" Eliza asked urgently as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She looked around again, at the panic, the chaos around her. She's seen this before. She knew what this was, and yet she still clung to every bit of ignorant hope that she could.

"The Fire Nation's here. They're attacking the Water Tribe," Alex explained quickly, drawing Eliza's attention back to his brown eyes. He looked serious, grim. It was a look she'd never really seen on him. But laying underneath she could still see the ever present spark of determination and excitement in his eyes. And she still thought they were beautiful.

"We're under attack?" she asked, her mind slowly trying to process it. She swallowed roughly and glanced around again, frantically.

"Yes," Alexander said firmly before squeezing her hand and pulling her back in towards him. He looked into her eyes, the spark glowing behind his own. “But we won't let anything happen. We're going to stop them." Alexander turned to address Angelica, Peggy, and John. "That's why I need all of your help."

Eliza turned to her older sister, fear in her eyes. She needed Angelica to be able to read her like she always could now more than ever. And like always, Angelica didn’t fail her.

The fire bender turned to Eliza and placed a firm, yet comforting hand on her shoulder. She bent down a little and met her eyes, holding a strong gaze.

"We'll make a difference this time. I promise."

Her words were quiet so that only Eliza could hear, and they made all the difference in the world to her.

She nodded up at Angelica and shoved any fear to the back of her mind, replacing it instead with determination and something akin to anger, which had started to churn and boil inside of her. She turned to Alexander, ready now to take action and fight. “What's the plan?"

Alexander nodded once and then turned around. "Peggy, I need you and John on Ayla, go fetch her.”

The air nomad nodded and ran off.

Alex turned to John. “You need earth, something you can bend. Go into the Palace and see if you can find some coal or wood or something, and then find Peggy again. You and her need to fly out to the ships and take them down before they reach the city."

"Got it." John nodded, his eyes ablaze with the determination and ferocity everyone seemed to have during battle. He too ran off on his respective mission.

Alexander then turned to Angelica.

"Angelica, I need you to stay on the front with the water tribe soldiers. You're the only fire bender here and they're going to need you once the fire nation soldiers break through to the city-"

"IF!" Eliza interrupted, suddenly and explosively. Alexander turned to her in confusion.

" _If_ they break through to the city," she clarified. Alexander nodded, though his eyes still told he was doubtful.

"Right. Anyway, go find whoever's in charge, or the Chief or something, and inform them that you're there to help and also that we're going to do our best to stop the ships before they get here," Alex finished.

Angelica nodded, squeezed her sister's shoulder one last time, and then raced off in the opposite direction John and Peggy had gone. The direction it seemed most of the soldiers were going. Eliza's heart clamped with fear once again as she watched her sister disappear.

"Eliza," Alexander called and she turned back towards him. "You're with me on Phillip. We're going to stop the ships. Are you ready?"

Eliza stared into his eyes as time seemed to slow down. She could hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears and she could practically see the South Pole in front of her, completely set aflame and in ruins as black smoke poured everywhere. She could hear the screams, feel the smoke caught in her lungs and choking her. She could see the devastation, the despair, the tragedy.

"Eliza?"

She heard his voice, and then all she could see was his face, staring at her with his intense brown eyes.

"I'm ready." There was no way she was going to let this happen again.

And then they were running again.

And before she knew it, she was on Phillip's back.

And she wasn't even scared this time. Although there were much larger things to be scared about now than riding on a dragon, but it still felt like an accomplishment, small as it was.

 

———

 

Alexander really didn't know what he had just done, or how he had just done it, but he had. Eliza had looked to him, asked him what to do, and somehow he just knew. He knew exactly what had to be done and where everyone should go and what everyone needed to do. And he told them, and now they were following his orders. He had lead them. He was a leader.

No, he was more than that. He was the frigging avatar, and there was no way he was going to let the Northern Water Tribe down today. He was going to do all he could to stop the Fire Nation. They weren't going to lose this battle. They couldn't.

But his confidence dwindled the closer Phillip got to the fleet of Fire Nation ships. Apparently, things can seem a lot smaller when you see them from a distance, and if he thought that there were a lot of ships before... well...

Now there were hundreds.

They were lined up in rows of twelve, lead by three in a V-formation at the front.

Alexander figured that'd be as good a place as any to start.

He gulped as he lead Phillip downwards, noticing Eliza's hold on his waist tighten.

"Ok," he gulped, addressing her over his shoulder and trying not to sound as scared as he was beginning to feel.

"We're gonna fly down to the first ship and jump off Phillip. Then, we're gonna use our awesome powers to sink it, and hopefully the other two by it's side," he explained, noticing he sounded much better in his head than out loud.

"Ok," Eliza replied, her voice shaky. "And-" she swallowed, "And what if the soldiers on board see us and attack?"

"We fight back," he answered simply. He felt her nod against his shoulder as Phillip flew closer.

Unfortunately, the closer they got, the chance of someone on the ship spotting them grew.

And that's just what happened.

"Fireball!" Eliza screamed as a blazing fireball was launched right at them. Alexander guided Phillip to duck down and dodge the fireball, hearing it splash into the water somewhere behind them. Another fireball was launched and Eliza's grip tightened rather dangerously around his middle, but Alexander didn't flinch. He guided Phillip, riding him as if their two minds were one and dodging every single hit thrown their way.

"OK, THIS IS IT!" Alex called to Eliza as Phillip swooped down to the ship. Eliza's arms disappeared as she let go and jumped off. Alexander followed her lead, sending a quick prayer to whoever was listening up there and jumped off his dragon's back.

He fell a couple feet before hitting the hard, metal surface with a thud, his knees buckling under him to absorb the shock from his fall. He took a second to steady himself before looking up.

Eliza had already gone ahead and started, not waiting a second for him. She ran forward, flicking open her canteen that was strapped to her hip and bending a solid stream of water out. She whipped an approaching fire nation soldier with it, sending him flying off to the left and into one of his comrades. Then, she ducked to avoid a fire blast at her and immediately shoved her stream of water into the attacking soldier, sending him flailing backwards. Alexander was practically in awe of her as he watched her fight like it was what she was born to do. She was amazing.

"ARGH!"

A shout from behind him pulled him back into the real world and he turned around just in time to see a sword being swung at his head. He bent backwards to avoid having his head chopped off, and watched as the sword swished over his face, almost in slow motion.

He stood back up and pushed the sword wielding soldier backwards with a strong blast of fire, sending her over the edge of the boat and into the water. Another soldier approached on his right and she aimed to blast him with fire, but before she could, Alexander grabbed her hand and extinguished the fire that was about to protrude from her fingertips. He pulled her towards him by her arm, swung her around before releasing her and sending her toppling over the edge to join her comrade in the icy water.

"Alexander! The cannons!" Eliza yelled from across the ship as she froze a soldier who had been running toward her.

Alexander looked around at the huge cannons which launched the fireballs. She was right, they had to be taken out, but how?

And that's when the lightbulb went off in his head.

He ran toward one of two cannons on board and set to work. He could make sense of how they worked pretty easily, a chain was used to hold back the lever which contained the fireball, and when the chain was released, the lever swung forward and launched the fireball. It was pretty simple mechanics, and Alexander knew just how to work it so that the cannon did what he wanted it to.

He wound up the chain, making sure that when the lever was released it wouldn't go to far. Then, he ran around to the back, set the giant, oil-covered boulder aflame and released the chain, holding his breath in nervous anticipation.

The fireball went straight up a few feet before falling straight back down and completely destroying the cannon it was just launched from. Alexander grinned as he watched it burn up and collapse. Sometimes, even he amazed himself with his genius.

He ran over to the next one, joining Eliza as she completely sliced the lever in half with a strong slash of water, rendering it completely useless. He smiled when he reached her, grabbing her by the arm.

"Great job," he huffed, the smile never fading from his face. “That was a good idea to take out the cannons!"

Eliza smiled back and nodded. "Thanks. Now, any idea how we're gonna sink the ship?"

Alexander's smile widened and his eyes shone with something akin to evil mischief. Of course he had an idea, he was Alexander Hamilton for crying out loud!

"Come with me, M'Lady, to the helm. We're taking control of the ship!" Alexander grabbed her by the hand and ran with her in tow to the helm of the ship.

He kicked open the heavy metal door with a blast of fire through his foot. The couple guards in there looked completely shocked as he and Eliza ran in. She took the one on the left, effectively dodging his fire blasts and quickly freezing him against the wall. Alexander ducked from a blast of hot fire before kicking the legs of his opponent out from under them and sending them falling on their butt. Eliza then stepped in and froze them to the ground.

"Nice work," Alexander said as he turned to grin at Eliza. The girl was heaving and sweat trickled down her forehead, but she had never looked more beautiful.

"Thanks, you too," she said with a wild and completely uncontrollable grin. If Alexander didn't know any better, he'd say she rather enjoyed beating the crap out of fire nation soldiers.

"Ok, time to take the wheel!" he exclaimed, running over to the wheel of the ship. He peered at it curiously, wondering how it worked. But, since time was of the essence, he just shrugged and started spinning it like crazy to the right.

"What are you doing?!" Eliza exclaimed as the ship lurched suddenly to the right, causing the poor girl to trip and slam into the wall.

"I'm making this ship crash into the other one!" he yelled back, glancing at the dials on the dashboard in front of him and turning some knobs that looked like they might do the trick, just for the heck of it really.

"Ok, we gotta get out of here like right now!" he yelled as he ran over to Eliza.

The two guards had already managed to thaw themselves and escape, so it was only them in there. He grabbed the water tribe girl by the hand and ran with her to the door, which was now closed.

Alexander kicked at it.

It didn't open.

He kicked harder.

It didn't budge.

His eyes grew wide as understanding sunk in.

"They blocked us in," Eliza exclaimed, panic in her voice as her grip on Alexander's hand tightened. "What are we gonna do?"

Alexander looked around the helm frantically for an exit. His eyes landed on the large glass window at the front of the room. He inhaled deeply, weighing his options in his head.

Jump out of the window and fall about fifteen feet or stay here and explode when the ships collide?

"Come on!" he yelled as he dragged Eliza into a run.

"Alex- what are we-"

Alexander threw a blast of fire at the window, shattering the glass. He pulled Eliza closer, swooping an arm around her as he pushed off and jumped through the hole.

"ALEEEEX!"

Eliza and Alexander screamed as they free fell through the air, the wind rushing around them as the plummeted.

Alexander landed on his feet but instantly fell to his knees from the impact. He instinctively fell forward and wrapped around Eliza protectively, making sure he got the brunt of the fall. He slid a foot on his back before coming to a stop.

He looked over at Eliza, who was untangling herself from him, and caught his breath.

"You ok?" he asked as she stood and helped him to his feet.

"Yes. You?"

"I'm fine."

"Then what on earth were you thinking!?" she yelled, her voice scolding as she slapped Alexander upside the head.

"I was thinking that we really needed to get out of that room and off this ship before-"

**_SCREEEEECH-CLANG!_ **

Alexander and Eliza felt the ship collide with the other one and they were thrown, flying backwards by the force of it. Alex scrambled to his feet and grabbed Eliza, pulling her up.

"PHILLIP!" Alex shouted, using his fingers to whistle loudly. He looked behind him as he and Eliza ran to the other side of the ship. The two boats were on fire and black smoke was billowing all around them. He could feel that end of the ship start to dip downwards as the water pulled it in.

Alexander and Eliza got to the other side of the boat, clinging onto the edge to stop themselves from sliding down into the fiery, watery mess below them.

"Alexander, look!"

Eliza pointed up to the sky, where Phillip was swooping down towards them. Alex hauled himself over the edge and jumped up just in time to throw himself over his dragon's back. He hooked his leg over and sat up, reaching for Eliza. She grabbed his hand and he hauled her up, Phillip flying up and away from the smoking ships.

Eliza climbed up onto Phillip's back and hung onto Alexander for dear life. Down below, there was a loud sound of an explosion as the ships burned up even more.

"Well, that was close," Alexander muttered as he watched the two boats sink and explode simultaneously.

"What about the third one?" Eliza asked, ignoring how fast her heart was beating.

Alexander looked ahead at the first ship which was still steaming forward at an alarmingly fast rate. He started trying to formulate a plan when he heard a familiar roar. He looked up higher to see Ayla swooping down to the ship and landing on it's surface. He squinted and saw Peggy and John hop off, starting their own attack on the ship. He grinned widely at the sight of his friends, relief filling his chest.

"I think Pegs and John got that one covered," he replied, feeling as Eliza shifted herself to peer over his shoulder. She gasped at the sight of their friends taking out the cannons and the soldiers just like they had done.

John used the unlit boulders and completely destroyed the cannons. Then, he disappeared into the helm, Peggy covering him. A few minutes later, they both run away from the now smoking helm and climb back onto Ayla. The sky bison took off just as the ship sputtered to a stop and continued smoking like crazy.

"They did it!" Eliza exclaimed as Ayla and Phillip flew towards each other.

"Hey! Thanks for the help!" Alexander called out once they were within earshot. Peggy grinned wildly from atop Ayla's head, reins in her hands.

"Thought you could use it!" she called back.

"Ok, let's keep going. There's lots more where those three came from," Alexander said as he turned Phillip around.

And boy was he right.

They were staring down dozens of ships, all like the three they had just worked their butts off and risked their lives to sink.

What were they going to do?

 

———

 

Thomas paced back and forth in his cold cell, flinching every time he heard something. Whether it be a distant shout, or an even more distant explosion.

He hated this. Absolutely couldn't stand it. He should be out there right now! Helping! Protecting his city! Aiding his people! _That's_ what a Prince should do. Not hide away in some cell, even if it was against his will.

Thomas heard a particularly loud explosion and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Ok, that's it. Time to do something.

"Hey!" he called out, gripping the bars on the window of the thick wooden door.

"Yes?" the guard Thomas knew as Derik asked.

"You have to let me out! Those people out there need my help! I could be doing something- _they need me!_ " Thomas pleaded, gripping so hard his knuckles turned white.

They had to let him out. They had to.

"I'm sorry, Prince Thomas, but there's nothing I can do," Derik replied, just like he had the other twenty three times Thomas had begged to be let out.

"UGH!" Thomas yelled in frustration, slamming his fist against the door with a loud bang. “This isn't fair! I need to help my people!"

"No. You need to stay here and keep safe,” Derik replied calmly.

Stupid Derik.

Thomas was just about to reply with some more yelling when he heard the door to the dungeons open.

"Hello, gentlemen,” a deep, calm voice said from out of no where. Thomas knew that voice, he could recognize it from a mile away. He craned his neck to see what was going on.

"Grand secretary? What are you doing here?” the other guard sputtered weakly in shock.

"I'm here to inform you that you're both needed upstairs. Apparently things are getting bad out there," James replied, his voice perfectly even.

"But... we have direct orders..." Derik trailed off in confusion.

"Yes, I know. And that's why I'm here. I'm to take care of Thomas and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"But, the Chief said-"

"I know what the Chief said. I'm telling you what he just told me, and that's that you're now needed on the front. Plans change, Dominic." James replied smoothly, just a hint of an edge to his voice.

Thomas could just make out some confused glances from the two guards before they nodded and ran away, up the stairs. Thomas waited until he was sure they were gone to say anything.

"James?" Thomas called out cautiously, craning his neck and standing on his toes just to be able to see out the small, barred window.

There was a long sigh and then James, in a very tired voice said, "Yes, Thomas?"

"James you gotta let me out," Thomas said quickly, not missing a beat. He needed to get out of there and he needed to get out of there NOW.

Another sigh.

"And why should I do that, Thomas?" James asked, and Thomas could tell he was massaging his temple like he always did when he got frustrated or tired or worn out, all of which he probably was right then.

"Because I need to go help them. I need to. I can't just sit here and hide like some coward, James!" Thomas started, his voice raw and raspy from being on the verge of tears... again.

"And what if something happens and I'm not there to help someone? What if they need me and I'm not there? What kind of Prince would I be? What kind of- of _person_ would I be if-" Thomas sucked in a breath of air, too caught up in his own emotional monologue to even notice what James was doing.

"If I just let the fire nation invade my tribe- my home! I can't just let those _monsters_ -"

Thomas stopped talking when the door to his cell swished open.

He stood there, mouth open wide from stopping mid-sentence and blinked down at James. His best friend stood there, looking back up at him with a small frown, but his eyes showed compassion and understanding.

Thomas just continued staring in shock until James sighed (for the third time) and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Just go."

James moved aside to let Thomas out, but Thomas didn't move. James looked up at him again, an eyebrow raised in question. He must have guessed what was going on because his expression softened and his hand dropped to his side.

"Look, I know this is something you have to do, alright? Just..." James looked up at Thomas with a look that could not very well be described. It was stern, like a warning, but there was also something deeper behind his eyes. Almost like sadness. He sighed again.

"Just don't make me regret this."

And with that look, and those words, Thomas understood.

"I won't, I promise,” he said, his heart racing now with the thought of being let out. He stepped through the door way, the stairs in sight, and he started to race towards them. But when he got to the first step, he paused. He looked back at James.

"Thank you," he said, but his real gratitude was expressed through his eyes in a look only best friends could really read. James just smiled and shook his head, already regretting everything.

"Go!" James urged before he had a chance to stop Thomas again. The younger boy just grinned wildly and bounded up the stairs and out of sight.

James stood there for awhile longer, not really sure why. His smile faded eventually and his heart hung heavy in his chest. He clasped his hands together and lifted his head, looking up to what would be the sky if the low ceiling wasn't there.

"Dear Spirits," he started, not really sure why he was praying, but still feeling an unbelievably strong urge to continue. "Please, _please_ let him be safe."

 

———

 

Thomas ran. He ran like he'd never run before. Or like he'd never run again. Which ever one was faster.

He ran all the way up to his room, passing hurried guards who didn't even seem to give him a second glance. He made it to his room with ease and immediately stripped off his stupid fancy robes. Like hell he'd be able to fight in those. He tugged on his usual training clothes and pulled his wool coat over his head. Then, he grabbed his canteens and strapped them around his waist.

He glanced around for any source of water to fill his canteens, when his eyes fell on the little fountain next to his vanity. Duh.

He bent plenty of water into the bottles, filling them up completely before closing them and racing back towards the door. He had to hurry, his people needed-

"Hurry! I saw him run up the stairs! We have to make sure he stays here where it's safe- it was the Chief's orders!"

Thomas stopped at the top of the stairs when he heard this. His heart pounded as he heard the stomping feet racing up the stairs towards him.

Thomas looked around wildly before running back into his room. He stopped when he reached the huge window and used all his might to tug it open, but it wouldn't budge.

He heard the footsteps getting closer and he chanced a glance back over his shoulder. He could see the shadows of at least three men rushing up the winding staircase. His heart leapt into his throat as he spun around and kicked up his foot, hitting the window pane square in centre. It cracked substantially, but not enough to shatter it completely. Thomas brought his leg up and gave it another forceful kick. The glass cracked immensely. One more kick and-

"PRINCE THOMAS! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The voices were close. They were in his room.

Thomas didn't even turn around, he just kicked once more with all his might.

**_Shatter!_ **

The glass went everywhere and Thomas wasted no time before stepping on the edge and heaving himself through, the cold wind immediately hitting him.

"Prince Thomas you are ordered to get back in the room _this instant_!"

Thomas turned around to face the guards, half his body out the window and hanging onto the frame with one hand. He saw the three men in his room, all of them with their spears disregarded on the floor and their hands up cautiously as they inched closer to him. He observed they're faces. They all looked terrified, and, for some reason, this amused him.

"Sorry," he said with a casual shrug and a wicked grin. His heart was pounding so fast and he could feel the excitement and adrenaline rushing through his veins. He had never rebelled like this before, and it was exhilarating!

The guards were getting closer. Thomas stuck his other foot outside and lowered himself down. He glanced up at the guards' horrified expressions one last time and smiled like a madman.

"Say hi to my father for me!"

Thomas let go.

"No!!" the guards all yelled in unison as they ran to the window and crowded around it.

Thomas laughed the whole way down, feeling the rush of air and the weightlessness of free falling. He spun around in the air so that he was headfirst and raised his arms before plunging smoothly into the water without hardly a splash.

The guards blinked in shock as they watched Thomas disappear into the water, never reemerging.

“We are _so_ fired.”

Thomas swam underwater as fast as he could, using his bending to propel him through the icy water. Eventually, he made it to the front wall. Unfortunately, that's where all the fireballs were being fired.

Thomas stopped in his tracks as a huge, sizzling boulder plunged into the water right in front of him. He watched as it sank into the dark abyss below him. Then, he noticed that more boulders were hitting the water around him. In a panic, he kicked and swam his way to the surface, gasping for air once he got there.

He looked around frantically at the sight. Tons of fire nation ships on his right and the battlefront the water tribe had set up on his left. It was a war zone alright.

He started swimming over to them, careful not to get hit by any flying boulders. Once he made it to land, he easily dried himself by bending all the water out of his wet clothes and hair while running up to the base. Immediately he spotted one of the avatars friends, the scary fire nation girl, Angelica, he thinks her name is. He ran up to her.

"And everyone's in position?" he heard her say to a man he recognized as master Paul as he neared them.

"Yes, the water benders are ready and in position, awaiting my orders," master Paul replied affirmatively.

"Good. Give them the order when-"

"Angelica!" Thomas called when he arrived in front of them. The girl looked up at him in surprise before her expression twisted into confusion.

"Prince Thomas? What are you-"

"I'm here to help," he replied instantly, cutting her off before she could finish.

"Thomas! Shouldn't you be in the Palace where it's safe?" master Paul exclaimed in horror. Thomas turned to the old man and tried not to let his anger get the best of him and not lash out.

So, instead, he decided to be petty.

"And shouldn't you be obeying Angelica and waiting to give your men the order?" he snapped back, arms crossed over his chest. Paul's expression blanked and he stuttered for a second before nodding numbly and racing off. Thomas couldn't help but smirk to himself.

"That was a little harsh, don't ya think?" Angelica asked monotonously. Thomas turned to face her with a grin and shrugged.

"Desperate times, desperate measures."

Angelica hummed as an answer, glancing him over with an odd look of contemplattment on her face.

"So, how can I help?" Thomas asked eagerly after the short pause. Angelica seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts she was having instantly as she turned to where the ships were slowly getting closer.

"Well, they'll probably be on our shore soon. So, we're going to need all the help we can get to keep them from reaching the city. The maters have gathered all the water benders of age and have them positioned just inside the wall. They'll be the first defence. The soldiers are behind the wall at the outskirts of the city to defend it in case the fire nation breaks through the water benders. But we're hoping that doesn't happen. And your father is working with the Palace guards, trying to get the citizens evacuated and somewhere safe before the attacks really start."

Thomas nodded along as she explained and gazed off onto the on coming fire nation gravely.

"So, I'll stay here and help the other water benders," Thomas said, confirming if this is what Angelica wanted him to do. She nodded absentmindedly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Angelica?..." Thomas asked cautiously. He gave her a moment, she didn't answer. He figured maybe he should just go and leave her to her devices before-

"Eliza and Peggy went out with John and Alexander. They're all out there. Right now. Trying to stop the ships before they get here," Angelica answered, staring out at the sea numbly, although the worry was clear in her eyes. Thomas watched as her grip tightened around herself, and saw the reflection of a distant explosion light up in her eyes.

"Every time I see an explosion, or another ship go up in smoke, I just think, what if-" her voice cut out from her throat closing up. She swallowed harshly and blinked the mist out of her eyes.

"Hey..." Thomas spoke softly as he took a small step closer. He didn't know what to say, and yet he spoke anyway, attempting to comfort her. "You don't need to worry about them, I'm sure they're fine. They're all really strong and absurdly talented for their age."

Angelica breathed in shakily and nodded, her grip slowly loosening.

"And besides, we need to focus on keeping the city safe now. That's our job, they're doing theirs," Thomas added, a last attempt to pull Angelica out of the trance she was in. It succeeded. Her arms fell down to her side with her hands in fists and her head held high.

"You're right," she said as she turned to Thomas, determination set on her face. Then, to Thomas' surprise, she smirked and said, "lets go kick some fire nation butt."

Thomas chuckled and reached out his hand. Angelica's smirk only grew as she took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Lets," Thomas agreed.

 

———

 

“ _John_!”

Peggy watched in horror as a chunk of rock that must have dislodged itself from one of the flaming bolders being hurled at them connected harshly with John’s head. Her eyes blew wide with panic as his head snapped back and his body fell slack against Ayla’s saddle. Peggy glanced at him, saw the blood dripping from his head, but then she had to abruptly look in front of her in order to dodge more of the flying fireballs.

“John! Johnny- are you ok?” she called desperately as she tried her best to guide an increasingly panicking sky bison through the mass of flaming rocks.

John didn’t answer.

Peggy took the chance and glanced over her shoulder at him. His eyes were closed and his whole body was limp but she could still make out the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. So, he was alive but definitely unconscious. Peggy worried her bottom lip as she tried to think about what to do.

Suddenly, Ayla roared and took a hard turn to the right, completely throwing Peggy off balance.

“Whoa! Ayla- watch out!” Peggy shrieked as more boulders came at them. Ayla, already scared to death, suddenly took charge and Peggy lost all control of her. The poor animal roared in fear as she flew recklessly and sporadically to avoid the fireballs. Peggy had no choice but to hang on as tight as she could and hold her breath.

Then- out of the corner of her eye- she saw a body dressed in green clothing slip off the back of her sky bison.

“JOHN!”

Peggy’s heart stopped as panic and adrenaline surged through it. Her instincts took over immediately and she dove off of Ayla, her staff in hand. She pinched her arms close to her body and locked them so that she could cut through the air and reach John in time. Just as she made it to him, she wrapped an arm around his waist and opened her glider with her other hand.

“Agh!” she grunted in exertion as the wind underneath her glider pulled her back up and away from the icy depths. It took all of her strength to carry John’s unconscious body in one arm and fly her glider in the other, and somehow she managed to fly them safely to a bank of ice and snow, not too far away from the wall of the city.

“John John John John-“ Peggy repeated in a panic as she gasped for breath. She laid the boy down on his back and studied him closely. She touched the side of his head where he got hit and saw that it was no longer bleeding at least, but he was still unconscious.

“Please John,” she murmured as she shook him, hysteria and panic pulling at her heart stings. “Please wake up! Please please please.”

She looked around desperately for help, but Ayla was no where to be seen and the ships were only getting closer now. Peggy gulped anxiously as she looked out in front of her. The wall wasn’t that far away.

She could make it.

She looked down at John and her chest collapsed with an almost all encompassing worry.

She had to make it.

With newfound determination and strength, she hauled John over her shoulders this time and used both hands on her glider. She took a deep breath and kicked off from the ground.

It was a little shaky at first but she quickly got the hang of it as she swooped and flew faster than she ever had before. And every time she thought her arms were going to give out or she was going to lose focus and slip, she just narrowed her eyes and looked straight ahead at the quickly approaching wall.

And then her feet touched down on the solid ice of the outer wall and she collapsed, her glider slipping from her grip and her body crushed beneath the weight of John as she heaved.

“What is that?”

“Who’s that?”

“Are you ok?”

Peggy only half registered the questions soldiers were throwing at her as her eyes dipped closed in exhaustion.

“It’s two of the avatar’s associates!”

“They’re hurt- help them up!”

“This one is unconscious.”

Peggy did, however, register when the weight of John’s body was picked up off of her. Her eyes snapped open and some strength returned as she recalled her injured friend.

“He’s hurt!” she gasped as she sat up, looking at the guard who held John in his arms. “He got hit with a rock in the head and he won’t wake up!”

“Get him to the healers, fast!” another guard ordered and then the guard holding the frighteningly small looking John ran off. Peggy stood up and ran after them, grabbing her glider and swinging it shut.

They raced down some steps and into the city, past buildings and homes and back towards the healing huts. In there, a bunch of women were already ready with bandages and healing pools and buckets of water. They were obviously anticipating the inevitable slew of injured people from the battle.

A couple women stepped forward and took John immediately upon seeing him and laid him down on a soft looking blanket on the floor.

“What happened?” one of them, the woman with her hair in a braid crown, asked quickly as the other one set to work.

“He got hit in the head with a rock and he hasn’t woken up since,” Peggy explained as she sat down by John’s side, taking his limp hand into hers.

“Ok, doesn’t look too bad. Maybe just a concussion. Let’s see here...” The lady who wore her hair down bended the water around her hands and Peggy watched, with semi-familiarity from observing Eliza, as she healed John. The water started to glow and then the woman pressed her hands to the injury on John’s head. There was sort of a weird, echoing sound as the water swirled around and around. The healer moved the water up higher and then down lower and then in circular patterns, and Peggy didn’t really understand what was going on, but then she felt the hand she was holding twitch. She gasped and looked down at their interlaced fingers, squeezing his hand gently. He squeezed back.

“John?” Peggy asked as she looked back at him. His nose suddenly scrunched up and his eyebrows furrowed as his mouth pinched into a frown. Peggy’s face erupted into a huge grin of relief.

“Uhh,” John moaned as he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry and black around the edges still. He opened his eyes wider and saw a beaming Peggy looking down at him with big grey eyes.

“Peggy?” he muttered hoarsely, but the sound of his own voice echoed harshly in his ears and he winced from the pain.

“Yeah. I’m here, John. Don’t worry, you’re ok now,” John heard her say as he felt her massaging circles onto the back of his hand with her thumb. It was very soothing, as was the cool, numbing sensation on the side of his head that was seeming to be drawing the pain out of him. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank to the beautifully calming sound that was filling his ears.

“He’s going back to sleep, is that ok? Is he ok?” Peggy asked in a panic as she watched John’s eyes close again.

“Yes, it’s perfectly ok, good even. It means his body has taken control of the healing again,” the wonderful healer explained as she stopped bending the water. “He should be fine now.”

Peggy looked to her with questioning eyes. “So does that mean he can go back and fight?”

“Spirits, no! He needs lots of rest now if he wants to make a full recovery.”

Peggy nodded and looked to the door anxiously. Her bottom lip found it’s way between her teeth again as she chewed on it nervously. The woman with the braid crown seemed to understand what was going on in the young air bender’s head as she reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Honey, your friend is in good hands now. If you need to go back out there, go. We’ll look after him.”

Peggy looked at her, searched her eyes for any reason not to trust her, and, upon finding none, she looked back down at John. He was asleep, he looked peaceful, and his head looked completely healed on the outside, so...

“Ok,” she nodded toward the woman as she stood up. She made her way to the door and looked back at all the girls and women in there ready to help heal the wounded. She smiled gratefully at them.

“Thank you.”

She ran out the door.

 

———

 

The first wave of attacks was unlike anything Thomas had ever experienced.

They were all waiting with bated breath. Nervousness, fear, anticipation all hung in the air around them as they're hearts thumped in their chests.

Thomas thought that the waiting for the attack would be the worst part.

He was wrong.

The whole city shook as the first ship crashed into the icy land, cutting through the ice like it was melted butter. Thomas heard cries and gasps as the ground shook underneath them. Everyone looked up to see the huge metal ship coming to a stop, only dozens of meters away from the wall that was protecting them. Thomas' heart pounded harder than ever as the front of the ship opened and crashed on top of the wall where they were all waiting.

And then it was silent for a moment.

Thomas didn't breathe.

He didn't move.

He was frozen.

And then-

"ARGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!"

The first wave of fire nation soldiers ran off the ship and onto the wall, and it was like a switch flipped on inside Thomas and he ran. He ran up to the fire nation with the rest of his fellow water benders as they all let out battle cries.

And then the fighting began.

It took a little while before Thomas actually came in contact with his first fire bender, but he did. And when he did, it was like his instincts took over and he didn't even need to think. He flipped open his canteen and doused the soldiers fire before it barely even left his hand. Thomas then froze his feet to the floor before knocking him out with a swift and icy hit of water to his head. He went down.

And there was absolutely no time to bathe in his victory because there were so many of them and they all just kept coming. Thomas leapt from side to side, staying light on his feet as he dove and ducked and dodged. His hands were working at miles per second as he took down every red soldier he saw.

A couple times they got too close. More than a couple times Thomas felt his heart leap into his throat as he just barely dodged a deadly fire blast. More times than he'd like to admit that he felt panic almost overtake him as he stared down the white and red mask which covered his opponents face completely. He wasn't sure if not being able to see their faces was better or worse than the contrary.

It didn’t matter. All the mattered was keeping the fire nation soldiers from breaking through.

But that didn’t last long.

Shrieks and cries were heard from both sides as fireball after fireball was launched at the wall. Thomas felt the ground shake beneath him as he continued to fight while trying not to lose his balance and topple over.

Then, the wall gave out.

Thomas suddenly found himself buried under snow, the sounds above him muted but the weight of it. He pushed the snow up and off of him and clawed his way back out, ready to attack.

With the wall down, dozens of fire nation soldiers marched out of their ships and over the debris of ice and snow. Thomas huffed for air and strength and he raised his arms. His eyes narrowed, his jaw set, his hands curled into fists. He sucked in a deep breath, and let it out.

The enemy came charging at him and he sprung into action. He pulled up his arms and splayed all his fingers. The snow and ice around him melted to water instantly and he called it up, forming a ring of water around him. He moved his arms quickly, shooting off water from the ring to knock over soldiers there, turning water from the ring into ice daggers to hit a group of soldiers there, and freezing them and knocking them with ice every chance he got.

But more kept coming. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw his fellow water benders spring into action too and take on their own fire benders, but there were so many. Thomas turned around and managed to protect himself with a wall of water before he got incinerated. Then, he bended a stream of water and wrapped it around the soldier who’d just tried to burn him. The water tentacle wrapped itself around his waist and the soldier yelled as they were picked up off the ground and flung into a group of other soldiers, knocking them all down. Thomas then melted the snow around them so that it was water, bended a whole ring around the seven or so soldiers, and froze them all together like they were a bouquet of flowers tied around the middle with a ribbon of ice. Thomas smiled, satisfied with himself as he watched them wiggle and try to break free.

Unfortunately, battles usually left little to no time for gloating, and Thomas was suddenly being faced with a wall of fire. His eyes went wide as he was caught off guard and completely defenceless. He barely even had time to brace himself before the heat of the fire licked at his skin. He shut his eyes tight.

The impact never came.

What came instead was another, perpendicular blast of fire from Angelica that saved Thomas’ life. The furious fire bender then proceeded to high-kick the fire nation soldier who fell to their knees and went limp as a noodle.

Thomas gazed at her in amazement and utter gratitude as he realized she just saved his life.

“You ok?” Angelica asked as she turned around to face Thomas, her chest heaving and her brow sweaty from exertion. Thomas beamed at her.

“Great, actually. Thanks for that, by the way,” Thomas replied. Angelica’s lips stretched out into a smile as she caught her breath.

“Don’t thank me yet.”

And then they were fighting again, back to back as they took down three, four, five soldiers at a time. They were like the ultimate fighting duo, reading each other’s minds and working perfectly together without saying a word. They were unstoppable.

That is, until Angelica became distracted by a certain flying sky bison roaring above her. Thomas noticed how she gasped and looked trained on it as it landed not too far away, roaring and blowing away ten soldiers at once with a flick of it’s tail.

And, just like before, Thomas read her mind.

“Go!” he told her, taking down another soldier while he was at it, “I’m ok over here.”

Angelica looked back at him, nodded, and took off.

She ran towards the bison she knew to be carrying her sister, only, she was very confused when she got closer and found her other sister. Her heart thumped in her chest as she watched Eliza jump off the back of the great beast and hit an oncoming soldier with a reckless whip of her water stream.

“Eliza! Where’s Peggy?” Angelica asked as soon as she made it to her sister.

Eliza looked up at her with a worried expression. “I don’t know. We found Ayla crying and roaring with Peggy and John no where to be seen- ugh!”

Eliza’s story was cut short as she and her sister got to work defending themselves against red soldiers once again.

“Alexander’s still out there-“ Eliza continued as she fought, “But he told me to take Ayla and look for them- TAKE THAT YOU SCUM!”

Eliza ferociously hit a soldier who was gaining on her with a block of ice and sent him flying backwards, into three others. She huffed as she turned back to Angelica, fear in her eyes.

“I don’t know what happened to them. I’m really scared, Angie.”

Angelica swallowed and took her sisters hand into hers. “Ok. Let’s go find them. Right now.”

“But, the battle,” Eliza said, shell shocked, “We can’t just leave!”

Angelica tugged her sister towards Ayla and climbed aboard.

“Some things are more important,” she said as they took off into the air, leaving the battlefield.

 

———

 

Alexander couldn’t keep up.

He hated to admit it, but he couldn’t. He was the only one left out here now, with Peggy and John missing and Eliza taking Ayla to go find them, he was all alone and he couldn’t keep up.

There were so many ships. Too many. They must have taken out twenty or so but it hardly made a difference. And now, already ten had made it to the shore and the rest kept on firing and firing, more and more balls of fire striking the city and destroying it. It was devastating.

Alexander huffed and gasped and choked as he tried to breathe. He felt so overwhelmed, so exhausted and spent, and so utterly useless as he watched helplessly from Phillip’s back. The poor dragon was just as exhausted, and he was still flying around and doing his best to dodge all the flying fireballs aimed at them.

What was he going to do?

What could he do?

Suddenly, his thoughts didn’t matter anymore, because Phillip was shrieking in pain.

“PHILLIP!” Alexander screamed as the dragon went berserk, flapping and flying as fast as he could to get out of there. Alex had no control and no choice but to hang on for dear life as Phillip charged forward, away from the boats, away from the sea, and over to the wall.

“Ok, buddy, land right there!” Alexander instructed as he nodded towards a safe spot on the ground.

But Phillip didn’t stop. The dragon’s breath was quick and short and his wings flapped desperately and uncontrollably. Alexander looked around for the problem and saw that there was a burning hole in Phillip’s left wing that was slowly growing bigger. His eyes went wide.

“Phillip!” he cried as the dragon roared in pain again and flew even faster, even more out of control. Alexander clung to him for dear life as the pair went barrelling past the Palace, past the whole city and out into a frozen tundra.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Alexander screamed as Phillip leered to the right in favour of his uninjured wing and then started to fall toward the ground. Their momentum kept them pummelling forward and the ground kept getting closer and closer. Then, Alexander registered somehow behind his tightly shut eyes the snapping and breaking of tree branches and the scratching of pine needles against his arms and legs and back. He ducked his head into his arms and braced himself for the worst as Phillip cut through the forest and connected with the ground, digging into the piled up snow until, finally, they came to a stop.

Alexander sat very still for a minute as he caught his breath. Then, he moved slowly, observing his own body for any broken limps or other serious injuries. Once he found only minor cuts and bruises, he slid off his dragon’s back.

“Shh, it’s ok...” Alexander whispered as he stroked Phillip’s neck soothingly, the poor beast had it’s eyes closed and was breathing heavily out of his nose. He looked to be in a lot of pain. Alexander moved around and stretched out his left wing.

“Oh no...” he breathed as he inspected the gaping wound. He took in a sharp breath when Phillip whimpered in pain. Alexander’s heart beat faster with worry and panic.

“Ok. Ok, Phillip it’s going to be ok. I’m going to get help, ok? And then I’ll come back here and you’ll be ok, ok?”

Phillip cracked open one eye to look at Alexander, and he could just see all the pain the poor creature was in. Phillip breathed out sharply and opened his jaw to let out a whine before closing it and his eye again, breathing heavily once more.

Alexander took that to mean, “You better hurry.”

“Ok... ok I’ll be back soon.”

And Alexander ran off into the direction in which they crashed through the forest, hoping that it would lead him out. It was easy to follow at first, he just ran along the huge ditch Phillip had created when he made contact with the ground. And when that stopped, he followed the pattern of broken tree branches.

But the forest seemed to go on forever, and Alexander couldn’t seem to find more broken branches as the trail was too high up to follow. His heart beat faster as he just continued in a straight line, hoping to just find his way back out. But after what seemed like forever, he had absolutely no idea where he was or which way he’d come from.

He looked up, around the trees and the woods, trying to find some semblance of familiarity or direction, but he found none.

His heart thudded in fear.

He was lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so evil for ending with ANOTHER cliffhanger >:D 
> 
> Mwahahaha I’m not sorry.


	14. Attack on the North - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> woooo boy this is a 10k+ chapter so get yourselves a drink and a snack and maybe a full course meal and GET YOURSELVES READY CAUSE SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN
> 
> It’s also the last chapter in book one! :,) aight imma go cry brb
> 
> I’d also just like to say thank you sooo much to everyone who has been reading and supporting and loving this story so far. You don’t know how much it means to me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //IMPORTANT WRITER’S NOTE BEFORE YOU READ!!//
> 
> So, as some of you may know, this is the end of book one, but there’s still a book two AND three, so don’t think this is the end or anything (cause it’s FAR from the end). 
> 
> That being said, I’m going to need to take a little break from posting for awhile. I need time to write and I also need to focus on school because I have a lot of work to do. So, I will start posting Book Two around Christmas time, since that’s when my exams end.
> 
> I hope you can all understand and I hope you can wait that long- I’m sorry but this is just the way it has to be:( 
> 
> So, until then, enjoy book one and this final chapter, I may have cried while writing it:,)
> 
> //THANK YOU!//

  
Alexander’s tendency when he got nervous or worried was to pace around in circles. Just walk around in a circle in a steady rhythm until you got your wits about you and calmed down.

And so, by the time Alexander had barely started to get his wits about him again, he had already paced around in a circle so much that the snow he walked upon had completely melted to reveal brown earth. Alexander let out a shaky breath as he racked his fingers through his hair.

“Ok... ok, so what do I need to do? Should I climb up a tree and see if I can see anything from up higher? Should I try and make my way back to Phillip? Should I scream for help and see if someone will hear me? What should I do? What do I do?”

Alexander started to pace again as his breathing picked back up quickly.

He had a dragon to save.

But he was lost.

The water tribe needed his help.

But he was lost.

Peggy and John went missing.

And so did he.

Missing from the battle where he was so desperately needed.

What if the Water Tribe fell because of him?

What if he couldn’t save Phillip?

What if he never finds Peggy and John?

What if he _never finds his way out of these woods-_

“OW!”

In all his pacing and panicking, Alexander hadn’t been watching where he was going and had run right into a tree, the impact so great that it had caused him to fall flat on his back.

“Stupid...” he seethed as he rubbed his head from the pain and then looked up.

Apparently he hadn’t run into a tree at all.

There, standing tall in front of him was a statue made out of beautiful white marble. Alexander sat up, cross-legged as he studied it further with intense intrigue.

It was a carving of a beautiful woman in a flowing gown, with a flowing scarf draped around her shoulders and reaching down to the bottom of her dress. Her hair was long and white and hung in two braids which draped over each shoulder. The rest of her hair was tied at the top by a thick metal band with water tribe symbols and split to hang in two loops on either side of her head. She held her hands out, as if welcoming someone into her arms, and she wore a soft, warm smile on her beautiful face. Alexander exhaled in amazement as he stared at her, taking her all in.

He then studied her eyes, open and kind and caring and full of a love and devotion that made Alexander feel safe and protected. He got lost in those eyes, staring into them for what seemed like forever, but was really only a moment. Still, the eyes felt so real, so alive, and Alexander could have sworn he saw them flash with light and life.

And there was something vaguely familiar about her too. Alexander couldn’t quite place it, but he knew her somehow. He knew those eyes, that smile, that light, that life. He knew her undying devotion and selflessness and kindness. He knew her.

“Yue...” he breathed, as if recognizing an old, lost friend.

And then, Alexander heard a piercing, high-pitched ring and his vision went out as his eyes started to glow a bright, white light.

 

———

 

Peggy heard the familiar roar of her pet before she saw Ayla flying above. She stopped running and smiled broadly, waving to Ayla to come down to her. The giant bison roared and descended, landing right in front of Peggy on the snowy street.

“Peggy!” Eliza cried in joy and relief as she jumped off of Ayla and ran towards her sister, enveloping her in a hug.

“Eliza?”

“Are you ok? Are you hurt? What happened? Where’s John? Is _he_ ok?” Eliza spoke with a sense of panicked urgency as she made it her mission to inspect every inch of Peggy for injuries. Peggy was not having any of it.

“Eliza- stop- I’m _fine_!” the air bender argued as she shoved her sister’s inspecting hands away. Eliza backed off but she still didn’t seem at ease with Peggy’s answer to her questions.

Angelica ran up and pulled Peggy into a hug as well, and the youngest sister groaned in annoyance but resigned to being nearly squeezed to death.

Then, Angelica pulled away as fast as she had pulled in and held Peggy tightly by the shoulders, fixing her with a stern glare. “Tell me why Eliza found Ayla flying around with an empty saddle with neither you or John anywhere to be found.”

Peggy blinked and opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was, “Uh...”

“ _Peggy_.”

The warning in Angelica’s voice snapped her out of it and the explanation came tumbling out of her like she’d been holding in a secret for weeks.

“John and I were flying on Ayla and trying not to get hit with fireballs while also trying to take down all the ships hurling fireballs at us but Ayla got scared and then John got hit in the head with a chunk of rock and while I was distracted seeing if he was ok Ayla started to fly out of control because she was so scared and then John fell off of her back because he was unconscious so I jumped off and caught him and then I flew us to the wall which was really hard because John is _not_ light and I am very _small_ but I managed to get us there and then this water tribe guy took us to these healer ladies and they did some water magic and now John is ok but he has to rest and I’m here.”

Peggy gasped for air as she finished her winded explanation.

Angelica and Eliza blinked in utter shock as they tried to process everything that was just hurled at them.

“So, John’s ok?” Eliza asked.

“Yes.”

“And you’re ok?” Angelica questioned.

“Ugh. Yes! I’m ok.”

Both sisters sighed in relief as they pulled Peggy back into their arms. Peggy didn’t try to fight it, she didn’t even groan this time. She just let her sisters hold her and let her own pounding heart relax for a bit while they embraced.

It was nice to have people who cared about you so much that they got extremely worried when you disappeared from a battle for a few minutes, even if they were a little annoying about it.

“Ok... so, can we go back to kicking fire nation butt now?” Peggy pleaded from behind the arms of her two sisters.

Angelica and Eliza pulled away and all three of them shared a wicked grin.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Angelica said.

“Yes! Ok, I say we take over one of those ships on the shore and try to stop the others who are still firing. They won’t fire at us because then they’d be firing at their own ship!” Peggy suggested excitedly.

Eliza clamped her hand on Peggy’s shoulder and leaned in with a wicked smirk. “That’s genius.”

And then the sisters were off to go kick fire nation butt.

 

———

 

When Alexander opened his eyes again he wasn’t in the forest. He wasn’t sitting in front of a statue. He wasn’t even sure if he was in the real world or not.

He was sitting on a giant lily pad in the middle of a beautiful, serene pond, is where he was.

He blinked owlishly at his surroundings, taking in the bright, vibrant greens and blues of the water and the plant life around him. At the edge of the pond there was a jungle of huge trees with vines climbing up their trunks and branches unlike any trees he had ever seen. They were really odd, those trees. And, come to think of it, this whole place was very odd.

Alexander took notice of the way he was floating on the lily pad without sinking it. Looked around at how beautiful, but unnaturally green the long blades of grass sticking up out of the water were. He swallowed thickly as he looked up and saw a weird sky of purple-grey clouds, even though everything was very bright.

“Where...” Alexander started as he stood up slowly, lily pad still not sinking. “Where am I?”

There was a rustling sound from Alexander’s right. He turned his head to see that an animal had emerged from the jungle of weird trees.

But... was it even an animal? It was unlike anything Alexander had ever seen or heard about.

The creature was a mint green colour and shaped like a small bear... if that bear walked on it’s two hind legs and wasn’t furry and was mint green. But it’s head wasn’t like a bear’s... more like a teddy bear with comically big eyes and a small little nose.

The creature blinked at him curiously, tilting it’s head to the side as it observed him. Alexander crouched down a little bit so he wouldn’t alarm it.

“Hello...” he spoke softly and with a smile, easing his way onto another lily pad and carefully taking a step towards it. The creature didn’t move, just blinked some more.

Alexander made another step forward and the creature flinched a little. “Hi, don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you.”

He got down even lower and moved slowly across the water on top of lily pads. The creature took a small step back and glanced around nervously before blinking at Alexander again with those huge eyes.

“Can you tell me where I am?” he tried asking once he made it to solid land. He stayed there, crouched down low and still a few feet away from the creature. He didn’t want to scare it off, so he stayed there and hoped the distance between them helped to calm it.

The creature stared at him inquisitively and tilted it’s head in confusion. Alexander repressed the urge to sigh.

“What’s your name?” he tried again, not sure if the creature could speak or even understand him.

It blinked again and looked back behind itself warily. Alexander did let out a sigh this time as he closed his eyes. Was he really so desperate for help that he’d think a random creature would speak to him?

“A human has never asked for my name before,” came a soft, timid voice. Alexander looked up in surprise to see the creature still there and blinking at him.

“What?” Alex croaked out in shock. Did it just speak?

“Humans don’t care much for spirits. Although, you don’t seem like the other humans.”

Alexander’s jaw dropped. He moved his mouth around, but no sound came out. What was going on? Was this some sort of vivid hallucination caused by his panicked brain?

“I’m sorry...” Alexander finally managed to say hoarsely. “Did you say spirits?”

The creature blinked and tilted it’s head again.

“What else did you think I was, human?”

“I dunno... a hallucination?”

“What’s that?”

“Uhhh, like when you think you see something but really it’s just your mind playing tricks on you,” Alexander explained.

“Oh. Spirits don’t have those.”

“I see...”

Alexander breathed slowly in an effort to calm himself down. He was really talking to a spirit, wasn’t he? Well, time to get his questions answered.

“Can you tell me where I am?” he asked as he took a seat on the ground, his legs sore from crouching.

“The spirit world.”

The light finally went off inside his head.

“Oh! Of course! The spirit world! I must have entered it when I saw that statue in the woods,” he exclaimed, more to himself than the spirit, who just tilted it’s head again in confusion.

“It makes so much sense now!” Alexander stood up in his excitement, epiphany dawning on him. He turned to the spirit who was continuing to blink at him. “I think I need to find that woman in the statue. Do you know someone named Yue?”

The spirit’s eyes went slightly wider as it replied, “You mean the moon spirit?”

Alexander paused, frowned, and shrugged his shoulders. “Uh... do I?”

“The woman who’s name is Yue is the woman who became the moon spirit many many years ago when it’s life was in danger. Now, she is no longer regarded as Yue, but as the moon spirit itself,” the friendly spirit explained.

“Oh,” Alexander said as he took in the information, “Do you know where I can find her?”

“She’s the moon.”

Alexander’s mind didn’t make the connection. He must be missing something.

“What?” he asked, feeling very stupid.

The spirit looked almost exasperated as it replied, “Find the moon and you’ll find the moon spirit. It’s not difficult. I have to leave you now, human. Good luck on your journey.”

“Wait-“

The spirit disappeared in a cloud of shimmering dust. Alexander blinked with his mouth wide open in shock.

“Well, some help you were,” he scoffed as he crossed his arms petulantly.

He frowned as he took to staring at the ground, trying to wrap his head around the words of the spirit. _Find the moon and you’ll find her._ Alexander looked up at the sky but it was still clouded over, no moon in sight. Was there even a moon in the spirit world? Supposedly, there was a moon spirit, so shouldn’t there be a moon?

“I don’t understand this,” Alexander sighed in frustration as he kicked at the water in the pond. The water rippled across the surface, disturbing the lily pads. Alexander watched as they dispersed, almost in an organized pattern. The plants floated away to the edges of the pond so that there was a giant empty spot in the middle of the pond where-

Alexander gasped when he saw it.

The reflection of the moon shimmered and rippled across the surface of the water.

He found the moon!

But what now?

Alexander looked up but the sky was still clouded over. He looked back down and the reflection was still there. He narrowed his eyes.

“How is that possible? There’s no moon in the sky... unless maybe it’s behind the clouds? But even then the reflection wouldn’t appear if the moon was behind the clouds... right?”

Alexander started talking with himself to try and work through this.

“I found the moon... or rather, I found it’s reflection...”

Alexander stared into the water rippling over the moon. He hadn’t notice it before, but the reflection of the moon wasn’t being distorted by the disturbed water. It was still, unmoving... underneath the water!

“The reflection.... maybe it’s not a reflection at all!” Alexander suddenly exclaimed as the pieces came together. “The moon is literally in the water!”

He felt pride blossom inside him at having figured it out, but it quickly faded once he realized he didn’t know what to do with this information. Should he just jump into the water and see what happens?

Alexander studied the water intensely and, upon finding nothing too frightening about it, shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

Alexander took a deep breath and placed his right foot into the water. He paused for a couple seconds, as if waiting to see if anything deathly happened. When nothing did, he went and placed his left foot in as well.

As Alexander slowly waded into the water, he noticed that it didn’t feel like normal water. He wasn’t getting wet and it wasn’t cold or warm or- anything really. It was like walking through thicker air.

Finally, he stood in the centre of the pool, right in the light of the moon. He was only about waist deep in the water, and nothing was happening. He frowned and put his hands on his hips haughtily.

“Uhh, ok, I’m here now! I found the moon or whatever so... whenever you’re ready Yue!” Alexander called out to no one. He sighed and dropped his head, once again feeling absolutely pathetic.

“How am I supposed to help the world if I can’t even help myself,” he muttered shamefully, “I don’t even know where to begin. How can I be the avatar if I don’t know how?”

Alexander’s heart burned as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I... I just need some help. Some guidance... anything... please...”

Silence.

Alexander felt the hopeless void in his heart swell larger and he squeezed his hands into fists, repressing the urge to cry.

It’s ok. It’s going to be ok.

He bit his lip, a lump forming in his throat.

A wave of panic and hopelessness crashed over him and he felt tears gathering in the corners of his closed eyes.

This was it. This was his lowest point.

“Hello, young avatar.”

Alexander’s heart kickstarted as his eyes snapped open.

He looked up to find the woman from the statue floating in front of him and glowing with pale moonlight. His eyes went wide as his mouth fell open in utter shock and amazement.

_She was right there! Smiling at him!_

For once in his life, Alexander was speechless.

“What troubles you, avatar Alexander?” Yue asked, her voice musical and absolutely angelic. She must be an angel, Alexander thought, the way she shines and floats like that.

“You know who I am?” he finally managed to ask her.

“Of course,” she said softly, kindly, “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Wait, you’ve seen me before?” Alexander asked incredulously.

“In a way. I knew one of your past lives, but I can still recognize his spirit in you, as well as all the other spirits of your past lives.”

“Wait, Wait Wait... the past avatars _live_ inside of me,”

Yue laughed softly, her eyes crinkling around the corners. “Not quite. They’re with you, yes, but they don’t live inside of you. It’s more like their spirits are always with you, there to help guide you on your avatar journey.”

Alexander’s mind just about exploded.

“You mean, this _whole time_ , there’ve been past avatars just waiting around to help me?” Alexander asked breathlessly. “Why didn’t I know this sooner? And why haven’t they helped me yet? I could really use it!”

“Slow down, Alexander,” Yue pressed her hands to his shoulders. It felt like cold water being dumped on him. He shivered.

“If you want them to help you, you have to learn to call on them. They are there, but you have to make your connection with them first.”

“How do I do that?” Alexander asked desperately as he stared up at Yue with wide, hopeful eyes. Her smile faded and she retracted her hands as she looked away.

“I’m not entirely sure,” she said and Alexander’s hopes died down. “But I do know you have to meditate and search deep within yourself.”

“So... should I try that? Meditate and look deep within myself? Would that work?”

Yue smiled so kindly it was blinding. “It might.”

Alexander frowned. A maybe wasn’t good enough. Yue senses his displeasure and tried again. “If it helps, this pool of water you are standing in is very precious. It’s full of spiritual energy because it’s the centre of balance in the spirit world.

“Back before I became the moon spirit, the moon and ocean spirits used to live in the mortal world in the form of coy fish. They would swim around each other in a constant pattern, always perfectly balanced. One of them could not survive without the other. Now, the ocean spirit and I rest here, in perfect balance in the spirit world. This water is in fact the ocean and the moon is, well, the moon. Understanding this might help you connect with the spiritual part of yourself.”

Alexander nodded as he took a seat in the water, crossing his legs and assuming a meditation position.

“I think I do understand,” he said, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes. “The moon and the ocean are in perfect harmony; equilibrium. They balance each other. They help each other. One without the other would be incomplete. They need each other, just like I need my past lives. And just like the moon is always there for the ocean, my past lives are always there for me, laying just beneath my surface...”

Alexander breathed in deep, and then exhaled slowly. In... out... in... out...

He looked deep inside himself, looked through to his core. He slowly started to pull parts of himself out, or more like bring them to the surface. He recalled long forgotten memories, how his fire bending feels, how his earth bending feels, how light his heart feels when he flies on Phillip, how connected he feels, right now, with this world and the moon and the ocean and the spirits.

Alexander felt like a small piece of his soul was being pulled out of him like smoke, and he let it happen. He felt the smoke leave his body and form a solid figure in front of him, and then, Alexander opened his eyes.

Sitting in front of him was an old man of maybe about 60 to 65 years. Alexander’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the man, tall, strong, and stone-faced. Was this actually happening right now?

“Hello?” Alexander asked softly, cautiously.

The man smiled, a small crack of a thing that spread warmth throughout Alexander’s chest.

“Hello, Alexander. Nice of you to finally introduce yourself.”

The man’s voice was rough and deep, but there was a strange kindness to it. And it felt so familiar.

“Hi...” Alexander breathed out dumbly, not really sure what else to say or do but stare at him with wide eyes.

He was bald. And dark skinned. And he wore dark green and earth tones. And his eyes were a muddy brown colour, just like the earth. And he was so big and tall and muscly. He seemed like a force of nature. A strong, dangerous force of nature, but his smile grew a bit warmer.

“I’m guessing you have some questions,” he said, in the same deep voice, “I’ll do my best to answer them.”

That was all the invitation Alexander needed.

“Who are you? Are you one of my past lives? Were you an avatar too? Which one? Wh-“

Alexander shut up when the man lifted a hand to stop him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again before addressing Alexander.

“My name is George Washington and I was the avatar before you,” he explained calmly, “I was born in the Earth Kingdom about 83 years ago and I’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time.”

“Then why did you wait until now?” Alexander immediately followed-up. “Why didn’t you help me when I was almost killed by a hurricane? Or when my mother died? Or even just now when I was fighting to save a whole city of people!”

Avatar George frowned and exhaled slowly. “It makes sense that you’re frustrated, after all, you never asked to be the avatar and no one ever taught you how to use your abilities. But understand that I have been helping you in the little ways that I could before you made your connection with me.”

Alexander frowned, more than a little confused. “Sorry, I’m lost. When did you ever help me? And why couldn’t I have made my ‘connection’ with you sooner?”

“That day the hurricane hit your town, you went into the avatar state, which is all of your past lives working through you and granting you all of our power. And when you were born I managed to visit your mother and tell her you were the next avatar, since I had a feeling you wouldn’t find out otherwise. And as for our connection, it’s you who has to decide when and where it takes place, I have no control over it.”

Alexander stayed silent for a minute, processing everything. After all, it wasn’t every day you met one of your past lives in a magical spirit world.

“I guess I can give you the visiting my mom thing, but really the avatar state was more of a collective avatar thing then it was you helping me out.”

Washington frowned, completely unimpressed.

“Ok, so now that I’ve made my connection with you, you can help me out?” Alexander asked eagerly.

“Yes. But-“

“Ok great because I could really use, like, a giant avatar state attack on the fire nation right now.”

“That’s not how it works, Alexander.”

Alexander’s face fell and he flung his arms up in frustration. “So then what’s the point of having super cool avatar state abilities if I can’t just use them!”

Washington breathed in calmly (or more as if he was trying to calm himself) and fixed Alexander with a stern gaze. “The avatar state, just like all your other abilities, is something that takes many years of hard work and discipline to master. I understand your eagerness to fight, but you have to understand just what you’re capable of before you’re able to access your full potential.”

Alexander felt his hopes crash and burn. He lowered his head and stared helplessly at the ground. He felt so completely... useless.

“But... no. No, that’s not fair. I don’t have years- the Water Tribe needs me now! How can I defend them if I don’t even know how to control my own powers?”

Alexander knew how pathetic his voice sounded as it cracked but he didn’t care, he was too overwhelmed with the growing pressure in his chest. He took a breath but it was staggered and broken. Why was it so hard to breathe?

“I... I can’t fail them... they need me. What good am I as an avatar if all I do is _fail_!” Alexander burst out suddenly, clutching his hands in fists and staring at the ground with an angry yet horrified expression.

“You haven’t failed.”

Alexander looked up immediately when he heard Yue’s soft voice. He was surprised to see her there again, floating above him and fixing him with a serious look.

“Yue...” Alex breathed in shock. Even Avatar Washington was staring at her in awe. Her expression was determined and she fixed Alexander with an unyielding gaze.

“You haven’t failed yet, Avatar, and you won’t fail. I’ll make sure of it.”

“But,” Washington spoke up, “What can you do? He’s not ready-“

“The Northern Water Tribe was once my home,” Yue spoke with strength and dignity, staring down the previous Avatar with all the pride in the spirit world. “I will not stand by and let it be destroyed. The world has already lost one Water Tribe too many.”

“Wait,” Alexander cut in, earning the brunt of Yue’s forceful gaze. “What do you mean the world has already lost a Water Tribe?”

Yue’s expression softened then, and became one of comprehension and pity. “You don’t know...”

“Know what?” Alexander demanded, getting sick and tired of everyone keeping the truth from him.

Yue stared at him a minute longer, observing and analyzing, as if trying to decide if he was ready. And then she turned away and, with great sadness in her eyes, waved her arm across the surface of the water.

The water rippled and then started to change. Alexander’s eyes widened as images of fire and smoke and burning buildings appeared in front of him. There were people- people of the water tribe- running and screaming and crying out to loved ones. There were men, women, little boys and girls, babies- they were all running for their lives. Troops of soldiers in red and black stomped through the snowy villages, burning everything, and everyone, in sight. It was horrible.

Alexander wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He stared at the scene with horrified eyes as he muttered, “What is this?”

“Ten years ago, the Southern Water Tribe suffered from attack after attack brought on by the Fire Nation. Eventually, they couldn’t hold out any longer. They fell, and it was at the hands of the Fire Lord himself,” Yue explained as calmly as she could, but her words were choked and heavy with rage and despair.

“Ten years...” Alexander whispered, realization finally dawning on him, “Eliza was only five...”

Alexander looked up from the destruction to stare at Yue with teary eyes. “She lost everything...”

“I couldn’t be there to help my sister tribe,” Yue spoke again, regaining her regal strength and poise. “But I won’t let the same thing happen to my own home.”

“But what are you going to do? There’s a whole army out there!” Alexander urged with disbelief. Yue smiled down at him, almost smugly.

“You underestimate me, young Avatar.”

Yue raised her hands slowly and the images vanished, leaving behind glowing water. The vibrantly coloured water rose into the air and collected behind Yue, towering higher and higher before there was a fifty foot tall glowing beast made out of water. Alexander gaped up at it in disbelief.

Yue simply rose her head higher and grinned. “I’m the moon spirit.”

 

———

 

James Reynolds stood at the centre of the helm, observing as his troops were brought down by the masses. He scowled unhappily. This wasn’t going exactly as he had planned. It was nearly sundown and his forces had only succeeded in breaking through the first wall.

He wondered if it had been this hard for his father to take down the other water tribe. How did he go about it? Was he out there fighting alongside his soldiers or was he staying back to give out orders like James was?

Would he be disappointed in his son for hiding out while fire nation men and women fought so bravely for their nation?

James worked his jaw. He didn’t have time to worry about what his father would think of him, but as if he could ever focus on anything else. He tired desperately to observe the battle in front of him, to remain present and come up with more orders, more plans, more battle strategies that would get them this win. But all he could think about was how he was crumbling under the pressure set by his father’s expectations... again.

“Sir, our numbers are dwindling quickly and it’s almost night fall. Should we pull back? Wait until tomorrow to begin attacking again?”

The voice came from somewhere behind him and it sounded female, but James was too lost in his own mind to care about who’s it was.

“No!” he snapped, anger and frustration getting the best of him. “If we retreat now they’ll see our weakness and attack us during the night. We can not afford to pull back now.”

In the corner of his vision, James caught sight of a large wave. He turned his head and noticed one of the water benders managing to take out nearly ten of his soldiers at a time. His eyes widened. How could that be...

He ran closer to the window, narrowed his eyes as he desperately tried to see who could possibly-

The fear in him immediately vanished and the cruel smirk returned to his face. Oh, he knew who _that_ was.

James whirled around and started marching towards the door, giving orders to one of the female generals- Sam?- as he left. “Keep pushing them forward. The sooner we break through their defences the better. It will only take one hole in their line up to be able to break through and get us to the city.”

“But, sir, there are so many- how will we-“

“Don’t worry,” James lilted confidently as he brushed past her. “I’m going to take care of it. Just make sure your troops are ready for my signal.”

It was good to be back.

 

———

 

Thomas huffed and gasped for air as he continued to fight. It went on and on and on without end. He was beginning to wonder if there was any limit to the number of fire nation soldiers that emptied the boats.

Thomas watched as more came at him. He breathed heavily, in through the nose and out through the mouth. He readied himself, crouching down and raising his arms, calling up the water without even thinking about it. The liquid ran along his arms and wrapped around them, giving him water tentacles. He set his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and waited.

When they were close enough, he moved. He swung forward his left arm, the water shooting forward and wrapping itself around the arm of one of the red soldiers, extinguishing his fire before it even left his hand. Then, Thomas grunted as he lifted the soldier up, and flung him into another one, sending them both flying.

Now, there were two on his right who were getting closer then he’d liked. Thomas shot out the water covering his right arm and the rushing water slammed into the two soldiers, sending them flying backwards.

There were soldiers everywhere now, coming at him from all angles. Thomas didn’t think, he just swung his arms quickly and created what was known as the octopus fighting stance. Eight tentacles of water surrounded and protected him. Thomas was bending them all at once, and every time he saw red he reacted. A fire blast came at him- Thomas blocked it with a water tentacle. A soldier got too close- Thomas sent them flying with a flick of his wrist.

The red bodies dwindled. Thomas’ focus waned. His arms were getting heavy and his heart was jackhammering in his chest. He could hardly breath. He dropped his arms, stopped bending for a moment, and put his hands on his knees as he doubled over, gasping for air.

This was too hard. There were too many. He couldn’t do it.

Hot air came rushing towards him and Thomas shot back up, barely getting a wave up in time to protect himself. It didn’t do much, the force of the blast sent him flying backwards and he landed with a grunt in the snow.

Thomas gasped for air, wincing as pain erupted from his back and his shoulder which took the brunt of the fall. He stayed down for a second too long because when he looked up, he saw the face that haunted his nightmares snarling down at him.

Thomas’ eyes went wide as Prince James of the Fire Nation raised his right hand and brought it back behind his head, calling up a ball of fire. Thomas’ eyes went ablaze with it’s light and just before James could roast him like a marshmallow on a stick, Thomas shoved both his hands forward and managed to knock James back with a pile of snow.

Thomas flew to his feet, heart hammering as he went on the defensive, calling back his water tentacles. But James wasn’t fighting back. He was standing a few feet away and brushing off the snow from his armoured uniform. He turned to fix Thomas with a cold glare and an evil smile.

“Well well well,” James sauntered, grin only widening at the look of absolutely fear on Thomas’ face. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Thomas swallowed and stayed still, not daring to move an inch. He ignored the battle around him and focused only on the hulking figure in front of him.

James continued to taunt mercilessly. “I would have thought our last encounter would’ve stopped you from being able to fight like this again, but I can see you managed to recover. I’m impressed, I’ll admit that, but I still would’ve stayed indoors today if I were you.”

Suddenly, Thomas found his voice as rage started to boil inside of him.

“I’d never abandon my people,” he spat, baring his teeth. “I’m going to defend my home with everything I have. That includes destroying _you_.”

James laughed icily, laughed like the cruel, evil monster he was. And then he fixed Thomas with a look of cold amusement.

“Oh, is that right?” James trilled between laughter. “You’re going to _destroy_ me? Tell me, how do you plan on doing that? Because if it’s anything like the last you ‘tried to destroy m’-“

Thomas sent James flying backwards with a push of his hand. This time he smirked as he advanced on James, watching him coughing up the water that made it into his mouth.

“It’s not going to be like last time,” Thomas said, staring down at the Fire Prince. “I’m stronger now, and it’s all thanks to you.”

James snarled as his eyes lit ablaze with fury.

They both acted at once, and red hot fire met ice cold water and the whole place went up in steam.

 

———

 

“Do you know the plan?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re ok with me and the ocean spirit working through your body?”

“Yes.”

“And you know that-“

“Yes! I know that I won’t be able to control my actions or have awareness until you stop inhabiting my body! And yes I know the risks and the dangers! We went through this like five times,” Alexander threw up his hands, finally having lost patience.

Yue frowned. “Actually, this is only the third time-“

“Whatever! Can we just get this spirit show on the road? There’s a whole city out there that needs help.”

Yue and Washington exchanged a look, and then Yue turned back to Alexander and nodded.

“Ok.”

She moved towards Alexander, but then something flashed in his mind and he stopped her.

“Wait! My dragon, Phillip, he’s hurt-“

“Yes. I’m aware of your animal guide’s injury and do not worry, I’ve sent some river spirits to heal him,” Yue replied.

“River spirits? What-“

“Now hold still.”

Alexander didn’t have time to respond before Yue’s cold hands were placed on either side of his head, pressing into his temples and covering his ears. Alexander’s eyes fell shut immediately and suddenly the only thing we was aware of was the rushing sound of water. Water and light. His eyelids fluttered for a second before they flew wide open with a glowing, white light. There was a burst of light and him and Yue both vanished, as well as all the water in the pool.

This left only the spirit of George Washington, sitting alone in the spirit mud.

“Well,” he said, frowning. “That’s something you don’t see everyday.”

 

———

 

“ _Agh-!_ “

A swift hit to the side left Thomas on the ground and gripping at the burned skin of his torso. He winced in pain as he tried to catch his breath.

“Not so tough now, are you?” James snarled as he kicked Thomas, sending him tumbling backwards across the snow.

Thomas gasped from pain as his whole body shook. He was completely exhausted and his whole body was in pain. He laid there on his stomach as he tried to push himself back up, grunting in exertion. His arms gave out and he fell back down with a thud.

He grunted and gasped and tried to force himself back up. Tried with only the sheer force of willpower, but even that wasn’t enough. He crashed back down again and this time he didn’t try again. He stayed down. The only thing he was aware of was the heaviness of his breath and the ringing in his ears. The world was starting to go hazy and his vision blurred out around the edges. There were noises but they sounded far away. So far away.

James kicked over Thomas’ limp body so that he was lying on his back. Thomas didn’t fight, he didn’t even react. He just gasped for air as he could hardly make out the blurry outline of the Fire Prince.

“You’re stronger now, huh?” James taunted, but his voice sounded muted, like it was underwater.

He said something else, but Thomas couldn’t understand it. He didn’t want to, anyway. All he wanted to do now was close his eyes and rest. He’d tried, he’d tried so hard but he just couldn’t do it. He was too weak.

Thomas let his eyes glaze over and his breathing run shallow.

_I’m sorry, mom. I’m so sorry. You and dad were right, I wasn’t ready for this._

_  
Yakov... maybe I’ll see you soon..._

Thomas watched without seeing as fire swarmed around him. It was hot, everything was so hot. The world was burning, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

He closed his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a piercing ring that sounded through the air. And then, clarity. And strength. Thomas breathed in deeply as he felt the power of a full moon times ten swarm his body and override his senses.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins and his eyes snapped back open. Above him, James was looking off in the direction of the sea, his eyes wide with fear. Thomas didn’t know what it was he was looking at, but he saw his opportunity and he took it.

With three swift moves, Thomas knocked James over, stood back up, and pushed and pushed and pushed until the rushing water stopped and James was pushed back against a frozen wall of ice.

The fire prince gasped and choked as air evaded him and Thomas took this opportunity to push more water onto him and encase his whole body, safe for his head, in ice, freezing him to the wall.

Thomas exhaled as he brought his arms down, ceasing to bend. A strong sense of pride and utter joy swept over him- _he’d done it!_ \- but he didn’t enjoy it for long.

Because then, the beautiful blue light of the moon called him to look out at the sea.

His jaw dropped to the ground.

There, in the middle of all the fire nation boats, was the literal spirit of the ocean. Thomas’ eyes widened as he watched the blue, glowing, fifty foot tall fish spirit he’d only thought he’d ever see in children’s story books.

It was the most beautiful and terrifying thing he’d ever seen. It seemed as if the world had gone dark and the only source of light was the blue emanating from the spirit. Thomas felt his knees go weak and he collapsed to them and bowed deeply, surrendering himself entirely to the spirit that protected him and his people.

The rest of the Water Tribe seemed to follow suit, everyone bowing and surrendering while the fire nation soldiers raised their weapons and readied their defences for battle.

It was a battle they were going to lose.

Thomas watched with dazed awe as the ocean spirit wiped out all the ships with one swift motion of it’s arm, and pulled all the troops from the land into the water. Thomas thought for a second that it was going to drown them all, but then he watched as the ocean spirit seemed to dump them all back into their ships.

Thomas heard screams and yells of “surrender!” and “retreat!” and watched as the fire nation scrambled to run away on their ships. The boats turned around and left and the ocean spirit made sure to help them out, pushing them away with a huge wave.

When the Fire Nation was gone, the rest of the Water Tribe remained fixated in awe.

The ocean spirit raised it’s arms and suddenly the wall was rebuilding itself. Snow and ice seemed to float in the air and work in reverse as the walls and the buildings and the houses fixed themselves. All the damage that was done to the city was quickly repaired. It was a miracle.

And then, as quickly as the spirit had come, it vanished back into the water, leaving behind a sparkling glow. But, before it could vanish completely, Thomas watched as the glowing light lifted off of the water and rose like smoke, creating the image of a woman with white hair and a flowing dress. She rose higher, towards the sky as she smiled down at her people.

“Princess Yue...” Thomas exhaled, knowing full well who the woman who had once sacrificed herself to become the moon spirit was.

Suddenly, cheers and cries of relief and victory and gratitude erupted from the people of the Northern Water Tribe as they watched their saviour and their Princess disappear into the sky.

Thomas felt chills run up and down his spine as he smiled up at the sky, tears prickling the corners of his eyes.

Everything seemed to return to normal, but then the ocean was moving again, and a small wave came to the shore, depositing a figure with glowing eyes onto the land. Thomas watched, smile vanishing from his face as the glowing eyes faded and the person crumbled to the ground.

Was that-

 

———

 

“Alexander!”

Eliza cried out as Ayla landed. She jumped off immediately and ran to where she saw Alexander’s body lying on the snow.

“Alexander! Alexander, please be ok!”

She crouched beside him and took him in her arms, lifting him into her lap. She cradled his head and brought it close to her heart, rocking back and forth.

“Please wake up,” she whispered, tears starting to fall from her lashes. “Please please wake up.”

Her lip quivered and she didn’t even notice when Angelica wrapped a comforting arm around her or when Peggy kneeled beside her. All she could focus on was Alexander peaceful face.

She nearly started to collapse into hysteric sobs when Alexander groaned and winced, seeming to come back to life. She let out a choked sob of relief when he opened his eyes and looked up at her smiling face.

He smiled weakly back.

“Hey Eliza... did we win?”

Eliza let out a wet laugh and she nodded her head. “Yes, we won. Thanks to you.”

Alexander laughed too and flung an arm around Eliza, who tightened her hold and hugged him back. The two embraced for a moment that seemed to last a life time, and then Peggy and Angelica joined in and wrapped their arms around the two of them.

Eliza buried her nose in Alexander’s neck and tried not to cry from sheer relief and happiness. Alexander could tell she was shaking and so he pulled back, just enough to see her face.

“Hey. Shh, it’s ok. It’s over now,” he cooed, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I know what happened to the South Pole,” he whispered, so only she could hear, “And I’m so sorry. It was your home and I’m so sorry. But I _promise_ you I’ll get it back for you. I’ll do everything I can to get it back for you.”

Eliza let the tears fall this time, and all she could do was nod as she went back to holding Alexander as close to her as she could.

A pressure in her chest that had been there for years seemed to float away, and Eliza felt lighter than she had in a long time.

Suddenly, there was a roar and a few screams. Alexander and his friends looked up to see a red dragon, healthy and happy, making it’s way down to them. Phillip purred softly as he wrapped his long snake-like body around his human friends and covered them protectively with his wings.

“Hey, there you are, Phillip! You alright boy?”

Phillip huffed in reply and nudged Alexander with his snout. The boy laughed and patted his dragon softly on the head.

“We’re all ok too, don’t worry.”

 

———

 

A couple days later, in the throne room of the royal palace, Thomas sat at his father’s left side, his mother on the right, as they waited for the avatar and his friends. Thomas wasn’t entirely sure why he had to be there as well, but he figured it was just his parents who wanted him there. Ever since he got back from the battle they wouldn’t let him out of their sight.

When all the commotion had died down that night, Thomas had realized that Prince James must have escaped somehow, because he was no longer frozen to the wall where Thomas had left him. But by then, he was far too tired to care. And when Thomas had staggered home after that, he was too exhausted to care about sneaking back in without being seen.

He hadn’t made it as far as the front hall before both his parents came bursting through the doors, crying and muttering. He was already have asleep so it felt like a dream, but he could remember them pulling him into their arms and squeezing so tightly it hurt.

His father’s deep voice sounded broken and tried but utterly relieved. His mother sounded worried and on the verge of hysterics as she examined Thomas all over for injuries. She’d healed the burn on his side in a minute and then all the other various bruises, cuts, and scraps that scattered his body. Thomas was too tired to protest, so he just let her fuss over him.

Eventually, he had fallen asleep right there in the hall, just passed out from sheer exhaustion, and his father had to carefully carry him to bed.

Thomas didn’t know, but as Nicolas had laid him down in his bed, there were tears streaming down his cheeks.

Jane went to Nicholas and held him in her arms, letting herself shed a few tears as her husband shook and cried silently. They weren’t sure if they were both relieved that it was over and that it hadn’t been as bad as the last time, or completely heartbroken and terrified that it had happened again at all.

“Why can’t we keep him safe?” Nicolas had whispered, still holding onto his wife in his son’s room.

“Because he’s stubborn, like you,” Jane had replied, earning a choked laugh from her husband.

They were silent for a moment, and then she added, “And because no matter how hard we try, he’s never going to be safe. Not in a world like this, not during a war.”

Nicolas pulled back and fixed her with a sad, knowing stare. “Then we have to stop the war.”

“We’ve talked about this, Nick. There’s just no way-“

“But what if there is? We could send some of our men, and keep some here to defend the city.”

“The city would still be left vulnerable-“

“The city is already vulnerable! We’d be hopeless right now if it wasn’t for the avatar and the spirits!”

Nicolas’ outburst was a little too loud and they both turned their heads as Thomas mumbled in his sleep and turned over. Jane sighed and shook her head.

“We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we both need rest.”

And, as it usually was between the two of them, Jane got the last word as she headed out the door and to their own room.

Nicolas stayed a second longer, watching over his son as his slept.

Thomas... he used to be so little that he could fit in his hands. Now, Nicolas could hardly carry him to his room after he passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Nicolas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, regret and shame washing over him.

“I’m sorry, Thomas,” he whispered to his sleeping boy. “I’ve gone about this all wrong. You were right, we do need to do our part in this war, I should’ve listened to you when I had the chance.”

He looked sadly at his son and suddenly he felt the need to apologize for everything he’s ever done wrong.

“I’m sorry for keeping you from the rest of the world. I thought I was trying to keep you safe, but really, I was being too strict and repressive. And I’m sorry for thinking marriage would be right for you when clearly you’re the only one who would know when it’s time. And I’m sorry for not believing in you, for not knowing that you would be greatly needed in that battle and that we wouldn’t have stood a chance without you. And most of all, I’m sorry for not having the courage to tell you all this when you’re awake.”

But Thomas didn’t need to hear it, he knew. He knew when he sat down at breakfast the next morning with his parents. He knew when he spoke to his father, and his father wasn’t reprimanding him for disobeying his orders. And he knew it when he looked into his father’s eyes. He knew his father was sorry, and Thomas forgave him for everything.

So, he didn’t mind waiting here for the avatar and his friends to arrive because it meant being at his father’s side, finally being respected and treated as an equal.

The doors opened and two soldiers led Alexander and his friends up to the Chief and then bowed before exiting. Thomas stared at the lot of them from his seat, eyeing them all carefully.

The air bender seemed cheery as she poked the earth bender in the side. The earth bender was wearing sunglasses (while indoors?), and he shoved her right back. The water bender stood by the avatar’s side, so close that they might have been touching. She looked as though she was straining herself from holding his hand and pressing into his side. The avatar himself looked just as hot headed and arrogant as ever, although there was also a certain air of gratitude and humility around him. Weird.

And as for the fire nation girl... well she was just as intimidating as always.

“Thank you for joining us,” Nicolas spoke suddenly, his voice commanding the room like always.

“Of course, we owe you much more thanks than that,” Jane spoke, her voice much softer but still just as bold as her husband’s.

Alexander smiled and bowed his head. “It’s my duty as the avatar to protect the world, and you needed my help. It was my honour to serve the Northern Water Tribe.”

Thomas was a little shocked. He hadn’t expected such humility from the avatar, especially not from Alexander.

“Yes, well we are forever indebted to you. If there is anything you need, just let us know,” Jane said.

“However...” Nicolas turned to look at his wife, looking for one last nod of approval before he continued. “We would also like to join you in the fight against the fire nation.”

Thomas snapped his head towards his father, hardly believing what he had just heard.

“We believe that it’s our turn to help out, especially after witnessing what the Fire Nation is truly capable of.” Nicolas turned to Thomas and smiled proudly.

“My son helped me realize that everyone needs to do their part in order to end this war. We can no longer sit by and let others suffer while we try and defend only our own. It’s time we helped put a stop to this war.”

Thomas gaped at his father, completely dumbstruck. “Father, you... you changed your mind?”

“Your words got through to me,” Nicolas replied. “And I realized that-“

“AHEM.”

“Right- sorry- your mother _and_ I realized that, as much as we try, we’re never going to be able to keep you from your destiny. Now, we believe your destiny is to travel with the avatar and help him bring balance back to the world.”

Thomas was hardly processing.

_What?... no.... what?!?.... no...._

“Are you serious? You’re letting me go with them?” he asked, his voice small and excited like a child’s.

Nicolas turned to face the avatar again. “If the offer still stands?”

Alexander took a moment to register what was going on too. He looked between the Chief and Thomas a few times before seemingly shaking out of it.

“Yes! Of course!” And then, much tamer as he took a step forward and bowed, “I’d be honoured to have Prince Thomas as my water bending teacher.”

Thomas kept exchanging his look of disbelief between his father and Alexander. He just... he couldn’t believe it!

“Are you sure about this, father? Mother?” Thomas looked between his parents for something that told him this wasn’t real, that this was all a hoax or a prank or a dream that he’d wake up from any second now.

All he saw were two proud, smiling faces.

“We’re sure, Thomas,” his mother said.

 

———

 

“Alright, is that it?” Peggy called down from where she was on Ayla’s saddle, packing in Thomas’ things.

“Yes, that’s all of it, thanks,” Thomas replied, smiling up at her.

Even after a whole three days, it all still seemed so unreal. Thomas has set to packing his things right away, far too excited to wait. He’d tried to pack lightly, but his version of light wasn’t what the others considered it to be. He’d learned that when Peggy said there was no way Ayla could carry all that luggage plus four people.

With the extra weight and an extra person, someone was always going to have to fly on Phillip along with Alexander. Eliza had been the first to volunteer.

“Ok guys, can we get going now?” John pipped up impatiently from where he was sitting against Ayla’s tail. Peggy jumped up from Ayla in a burst of air and hovered just above John for a second, stealing the sunglasses that were covering his eyes.

“Hey!” John called as he reached up for them, but the mischievous air bender bounced higher in the air and cackled as John tried to jump up and reach her.

“Give those back! I have a concussion, I need them!”

“Oh really?” Peggy asked as she flipped in the air and landed softly on the ground, putting the sunglasses on. “Do you? Cause I look _way_ better in them.”

“You do not- give them back!” John lunged for her but Peggy evaded him easily, floating back up in the air like a butterfly. “Angelicaaaa!”

“Peggy, give John back his glasses. _Now_.” Angelica said sternly as she tucked something else into Ayla’s saddle. Peggy grumbled but willingly dropped the sunglasses back on John’s head.

Thomas walked up to where his parents were standing, waiting to see them off. His mother wore a proud smile, but there was still worry and sadness in her eyes. His father looked stoic as ever, but even he looked a little sad to see his son leave.

“Ok...” Thomas said softly, ducking his head down, “I think we’re leaving now.”

“Ok, sweetie. Are you sure you have everything?”

“Yes.”

“Sleeping bag?”

“Yes.”

“Toothbrush?”

“ _Yes_.”

“Hat and mitts?”

“Mom, I don’t think I’m going to need a hat and mitts-“

Jane enveloped her son in a tight hug and effectively cut him off.

“I know,” she whispered into his hair, “I’m just worried about you leaving. And I’m sad I’m not going to see you for awhile.”

Thomas hugged her back, squeezing his eyes shut. He’d told himself he wouldn’t get emotional but... well...

“I’ll miss you too, mom.”

Jane pulled away, fixed her son with a proud, teary smile, and let go. Thomas felt a strong hand clamp on his shoulder and he turned towards his father.

“I’m proud of you,” Nicolas said firmly, staring down Thomas to make sure he really knew it. Thomas’ face split into the widest smile and he lunged forward, wrapping both arms tightly around his father.

“Thank you,” he murmured into his father’s chest, trying the hardest he’s ever tried not to cry. Nicolas rubbed a hand into his back and then squeezed back gently.

Thomas pulled away, looked once more at both his parents, and took a deep breath.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised.

Then, Thomas turned away and walked towards his new group of friends and allies.

John and Peggy were still bickering like children.

Eliza and Alexander were getting their flirt on like crazy.

And Angelica sat on Ayla’s head with a very tired look on her face.

Yup. His new friends.

Thomas grinned as he climbed aboard.

“Everyone ready?” Angelica looked around at everyone, making sure they were all there.

“Alright Ayla, yip yip!”

And they took off into the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also,,, I made a Tumblr for my art FINALLY. Go follow it, it’s dontdosadnesskids and I will probably be posting art to do with my fic as well as other art, and maybe even little hints and sneak peaks into book two!

**Author's Note:**

> He he I know it was short but it’ll get better I prooooomise.


End file.
